13 December 2006
U.S. Playground Designed for Disabled Kids Offers Access to All
Offers disabled and able-bodied children opportunity to play side-by-side
Washington – A playground located in the Washington suburb of McLean, Virginia, has become such a popular attraction that nearby parking lots cannot accommodate the playground’s overflow crowds.
The 0.8-hectare playground, named Clemyjontri (pronounced Clem-mee-JOHN-tree) but called “Clemy” for short, is likely the largest outdoor U.S. recreational facility designed to meet the needs of children who have a wide spectrum of disabilities.
Clemy was made possible by Adele Lebowitz, a widow who donated her 7.2-hectare estate to Virginia’s Fairfax County, with the understanding that her land would be used to build a park accessible to disabled children and their families. According to Fairfax County officials, the remaining 6.4 hectares of the Lebowitz estate eventually will be converted into landscaped nature paths, a sculpture garden, additional parking areas and a hospitality center that can be booked for special events.
Although the playground’s amenities were constructed with disabled children in mind, the park is a magnet for able-bodied children too. Local officials are quick to note that Clemyjontri welcomes everyone.
A sign at the park’s entrance declares that Clemy is a place “where every child can play,” so kids with physical disabilities regularly play alongside their nondisabled peers. In an interview with America.gov, the Fairfax County Park Foundation’s Robert Brennan said the playground also is a bonus for disabled adults, “especially grandparents,” who now can join their families at a fully accessible playground.
CREATIVE APPROACHES TO ACCESSIBLE PLAY
Brennan pointed to special features that draw visitors to the park. Brightly colored equipment -- such as a “helicopter” with ramps, a wide-bodied “train,” and a movable maze -- easily accommodate wheelchairs, while sheltered picnic tables allow families to gather for informal meals. An elaborate carousel, open during the spring and summer months, has safety straps for youngsters and wide “chariots” for those in wheelchairs. At one end of the playground, secluded seats with sunroofs permit children to play by themselves at a safe distance from people whose voices and activities could overstimulate children with autism.
Throughout Clemyjontri, a rubberized surface permits wheelchairs to maneuver easily, and sturdy swings with hand pumps allow kids who cannot use their legs to propel themselves backward and forward. Signs in Braille spell out the colors of the rainbow for blind children, and the interiors of cave-like hiding places are studded with mock “dinosaur fossils” that can be discovered by touch. The mock fossils are located at the eye-level of children in wheelchairs, so they can be spotted and enjoyed by sighted youngsters, as well.
Because much of the playground’s equipment is built fairly close to the ground, to keep it within reach of children in wheelchairs, it is equally navigable by toddlers and preschoolers, Brennan said. During a visit to the park on December 12, preschoolers were much in evidence, trying swings and clambering over the ramp-accessible jungle gym. Asked about their reaction to Clemyjontri, parents invariably offered enthusiastic approval.
“It’s the best park,” said a mother who strolled onto the grounds with her young daughter. “I wish everybody could [build a playground] like this.”
News about the park has spread quickly, by e-mail and word of mouth, so Clemyjontri receives streams of visitors from neighboring states like Delaware and Pennsylvania in addition to regular visitors who live in the Washington metropolitan area. Brennan said he has received numerous requests for information about the playground from officials in other U.S. municipalities interested in building similar facilities in their own communities, and also from the media. Not long ago, a Korean television reporter came to inquire about Clemyjontri, and the resulting interview aired on an international cable network.
Apart from their interest in the park itself, people are curious about the playground’s name, said Brennan. The name “Clemyjontri” combines letters from the names of the four Lebowitz children, who are now adults: Caroline (CL), Emily (EMY), John (JON) and Petrina (TRI). Their mother, who still lives on the grounds overlooking the playground, is deeply gratified to see youngsters enjoying the facility she envisioned when she donated her land to Fairfax County in late 2000, Brennan said. It has taken nearly six years to realize an elderly widow’s dream of creating a playground that could accommodate children with mobility issues or other physical limitations, but that dream has been successful beyond anyone’s expectations, he said.
“When Mrs. Lebowitz asked me how my own kids describe Clemy, I told her my sons said it was awesome,” Brennan recalled. “She smiled and echoed their response: ‘It is awesome!’ she said.”
Visitors to the park appear to agree.
See Diversity-At Leisure.
