When Owen Grose started attending the Chehalis School District’s special-ed preschool a couple years ago, his mom reached out to the district to talk about making the playground at Owen’s school more accessible for Owen and his wheelchair.
“We just all kind of started talking about what we could do to find a piece of equipment that he can interact with his gen ed (general education) peers,” Michelle Grose said.
Now a first-grader at James Lintott Elementary School, Owen and his classmates were the first group of kids to try out the school playground’s new Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible swing on Tuesday when the school held a ribbon-cutting for the swing and opened it up to students.
The swing is a “We-Go-Swing” model built by Landscape Structures and sold by Play Creation, which supplied the rest of the equipment at James Lintott Elementary School’s playground.
“The We-Go-Swing is a revolutionary step forward in inclusive play experiences. Designed to be integrated into the playground setting, this swing lets kids of all abilities play together and experience the thrill of swinging,” Landscape Structures stated on its website.
The swing consists of a ramp that connects to a deck, which has handlebars, a bench and space to stand and for wheelchairs to park. The swing “promotes social interaction for a truly inclusive experience by encouraging multiple users to work together to swing,” Landscape Structures stated.
“We looked at lots of options, and then my rule was it had to be something that could be used by everybody,” said Katie Howell, executive director of student support for the Chehalis School District.
“That was what I wanted too, where it’s not just Owen doing something. I wanted him with all of his peers, able to interact and play,” Grose said.
After going over different accessible swing models with Grose and deciding on the We-Go-Swing through Play Creation, Howell began looking for grants.
“It took a few years to find the right grant that got accepted,” Howell said.
The Chehalis School District was ultimately awarded a grant through the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction last year to purchase ADA-accessible playground equipment, including the accessible swing and a few accessible xylophones.
“He (Owen) loves music and noise, so that was a really fun piece,” Grose said of the new playground instruments.
Equipment installation began in October, with crews digging a large hole at the playground to accommodate the swing’s underground concrete supports.
“There was a lot of behind-the-scenes where people were wondering what we were doing,” Howell said.
Steen Concrete LLC in Chehalis, which the district contracted for ADA-compliant ramps at W.F. West High School, donated concrete and other materials for the playground project.
