New playground caters to kids with special needs

Walkerton, Ind. It is an exciting day at Walkerton Elementary School as they celebrate a new addition. Monday, they are having a dedication ceremony for their new Moderate Room playground. The dedication starts at 6:15 p.m. at the school. There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony and light refreshments.

The new playground may look like your typical jungle gym but it also serves another purpose.

We have students with autism, down syndrome and a variety of intellectual disabilities, explains Moderate Room teacher Lisa Rizek.

This playground still has your typical activities like swings, a sand box, spinning and more, but to these kids those everyday activities mean more than just fun.

The playground was designed to have a place for children to play that is safe, but also to provide sensory input that is necessary for certainly attending and also to work on muscles, building core strength, posturing, and also to develop fine motor skills, continues Rizek.

Plus, it burns off energy. Something Rizek says is essential so these kids can calm down and focus on classroom work.

Some of our children are even learning play skills necessary to play with other children in large groups, says Rizek.

The teachers first thought it would be loud, for their classrooms, and they have realized that there are not that many students out there, at the most 7 or 8, says Walekrton Elementary School Principal Tim Davis.

Now, this specialty playground is something not every school has. In fact, it's considered a luxury item. With the help of the Walkerton community they were able to get this $15,000 playground built and thanks to extra help from volunteers, install it in just 10 months.

Again, I am thankful to be in a great corporation like John Glenn School Corporation and that we have the ability to really provide for our students what they need to be successful in the classroom and throughout their lives, says Rizek

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New playground caters to kids with special needs