This guide, created by Seattle Children’s PlayGarden with King County Public Health’s Best Start for Kids Initiative, is a very thoughtful, respectful tool kit intended to open hearts, minds and access to play grounds, sports, after school activities, summer camps, art programs and other recreational programs to children with disabilities. Readers are given an opportunity to reflect on what they’ve experienced as they read the stories and strategies with questions following each section. Child care providers, preschool teachers, families and anyone who works with children will enjoy this tool kit. Start at the beginning! You don’t want to miss the orientation to the book or the introduction.
“In this toolkit you will not see a list of the “benefits of inclusion.” We are beyond having to justify what is a basic human right of all children: the right to play. Every child’s right to play is a fundamental human right as enshrined in article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (International Play Association, 2018). Instead, what you will find here are stories – stories from parents, youth service organizations, and from children themselves. Through these stories, we learn about the barriers to participation and what has worked to break down these barriers.”