Deliver social and cooperative play opportunities with playground spinners

Posted on December 1, 2022 by PlayLSI

Modern day merry-go-rounds attract kids of all ages and abilities. But why are kids so fascinated with spinning activities? Because it’s one of the core movements that engages the vestibular system. When a child twists and turns on playground spinners their brain receives signals to help control movement and balance. Even more, playground spinners offer developmental benefits including social and cooperative play.

Three children standing on a Curva spinner playground feature

We understand that kids discover their world and how to be successful in it through sensory play. And the more sensory-rich play experiences kids are presented with, the more they can fully develop a wide array of skills necessary to engage, change and impact the world around them.

Adding multi-user playground spinners to playground designs is a great way to expand play spaces and freshen up the play experience. Best of all, while kids whirl and twirl their day away, they’re receiving developmental benefits like building an array of motor, cognitive and social/emotional skills.

Try placing one spinner or multiple together to create a play zone filled with thrilling experiences that are great for kids of all ages and abilities. The Revi™ products including the ReviRock™ Bouncer, ReviWheel™ Spinner and ReviWhirl™ Spinner are a great option for this. Designed with inclusion in mind, all three Revi products are designed at transfer height, offer multiple ways to hang on, and provide plenty of room for kids of all abilities to lay down, sit, kneel or stand as they experiment with the motion.

When children play together, they develop in ways that they couldn’t alone. That’s why we develop multi-user spinners that combine the sensory input of spinning and social interaction among peers. Even better, many of these products like the We-Go-Round®, OmniSpin® Spinner and WhirlyQ® Spinner are inclusive to individuals of all ages and abilities.

Learn more about how certain types of play may shape children’s development by requesting our whitepaper, Shaped by Play: How Play Types Impact Development. Our observational research with the University of Minnesota examines whether certain types of developmentally significant play are best supported by certain playground components.

Celebrating Sensory Awareness Month

Posted on October 15, 2015 by PlayLSI

October is National Sensory Awareness Month… a time for us to help spread awareness of sensory processing disorder (SPD). SPD, which affects both children and adults, is a condition that exists when sensory signals don’t get organized into appropriate responses. The causes of SPD are among the subjects that researchers at the SPD Foundation have been studying, and treatment often includes natural setting therapy like at home, school or the playground.

The benefits of sensory-stimulating playground activities—those that engage all their senses—affect children of all abilities. The more they engage all of their senses, the better they make sense of the world around them and their relationship to it. See our infographic below of five ways that children benefit from sensory play.

Planning for inclusion on World Autism Awareness Day

Posted on April 2, 2015 by PlayLSI

Today marks the eighth annual World Autism Awareness Day. This day brings autism organizations around the world together to help raise awareness about the disorder affecting nearly 1 in 68 children. Because of these stats and the fact that there are one in seven children in the U.S. living with a disability, we took a close look at public playground requirements for children with disabilities by conducting a survey of nearly 900 parents of children 12-years-old and younger.

More than half (57 percent) of all parents asked about playground requirements for children with disabilities, mistakenly believe playgrounds are required to have elements designed for children with autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, and visual and hearing impairments. That means that people who think they’re designing an inclusive playground based upon ADA standards are really only designing to the minimum requirements and could be missing a huge need in their community.

Over the past few years, we’ve learned about a desire to include sensory play experiences and multigenerational opportunities for social interaction. Planners also want to make sure the community or school playground offers enough challenge for children who are typically developing as well so that there are opportunities for healthy interaction among children of all abilities. Our survey echoed that idea… nearly 75 percent of parents believe it is important that their children have an opportunity to play with a variety of children, including those with disabilities.

Overall, when planning an inclusive playground, inclusion should be used as a guiding principal—a checkpoint that you continue to question, “How are we fulfilling this need?” Learn more about inclusive play at playlsi.com, and see more results from our Inclusive Play survey.

The five key benefits of sensory play

Posted on October 31, 2013 by PlayLSI

Did you know that October is Sensory Awareness Month? It is, and on this last day of the month, we wanted to share the benefits that children of all abilities get from sensory play. Sensory play involves activities that help to stimulate and develop behaviors based on what a child sees, hears, touches, tastes and smells. It also involves how they move and position their bodies in space. The more they engage all seven senses, the better they make sense of the world around them and their relationship to it.

See below for our infographic of the five ways that children benefit from sensory play, and see a larger version at playlsi.com.

Stimulate your senses on the playground with Pulse™

Posted on February 8, 2013 by PlayLSI

Our inclusive playgrounds bring children and families of all abilities together for play. In addition to providing access to the playground, we are focused on offering sensory play experiences. That’s why we introduced Pulse™, a multisensory way to add lights, sounds, touch and more movement to the playground.

Pulse, with its three interactive games, brings children of all abilities together for visual, auditory and tactile stimulation. The games are easy to understand, encourage social interaction, teach the value of sportsmanship, and help develop physical coordination and spatial awareness.

Pulse Tennis

Pulse Tennis is great for two to eight players ages 5 to 12. With flashing lights and realistic tennis sounds, kids will be encouraged to run, lunge and stretch to send the light back to their opponent.

Pulse Table Tennis

Pulse Table Tennis welcomes two to four players ages 2 to 12. Kids develop hand-eye coordination and concentration as they watch for the light to bounce back to them. Table tennis, installed at a wheelchair-accessible height, is great for therapeutic settings.

Pulse Tempo

Pulse Tempo rewards kids for their movement with five unique sound and light shows. Designed for up to six players ages 2 to 12, Pulse Tempo helps advance kids’ motor skills.

Watch Pulse in action below, then go to playlsi.com to hear what kids have to say about the new multisensory play experience.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/-t4DMeZptFM]

Collaborating to bring awareness to Sensory Processing Disorder

Posted on August 29, 2012 by PlayLSI

We recently began collaborating with the Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) Foundation and its sister organization, the STAR (Sensory Therapies and Research) Center, to help bring more awareness to the disorder, and help share the important work that the Foundation does to treat adults and children affected by SPD. Our collaboration has led to the creation of a sensory playground at STAR Center, which is helping move SPD therapy outdoors.

Playgrounds are an important part of children’s lives. They provide opportunities to play, learn and socialize. Because of this, the inclusive playground at STAR Center will be used as a therapy tool and this “natural” setting will be incorporated into children’s daily lives.

The STAR Center also focuses on parent education to help them understand SPD and intervention principles. Parents are coached to prepare for their child’s sensory needs, and families receive help to facilitate a “sensory lifestyle” for the whole family.

We’re excited about this new collaboration with the SPD Foundation and STAR Center, and look forward to learning more about how therapy in natural settings—especially playgrounds—helps treat children touched by the disorder.

Tradition Meets Future

Aside

The region two winner of the Together We Play™ essay contest comes from South Elgin, Ill. The FUNdation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, works to improve the quality of life for the residents of the Village of South Elgin through the development, implementation, and funding of recreation, education, and conservation programs, services and facilities. Read the excerpt below to learn more about their need for inclusive playgrounds.

“Imagine an adolescent boy and father visiting a park together. Because of his special needs, the boy is unable to use the swings appropriate for his age, so they try to fit him into a toddler bucket swing. Now imagine the terror of the child and the anxiety of the father when the child becomes stuck in the swing requiring responders to cut him out. Unfortunately, this scene was not imagined. It recently happened at a park in the Village of South Elgin.

The FUNdation embraces the Village motto “Where Tradition Meets the Future” by employing our traditional values while addressing the future needs for our community. We envision the creation of a welcoming park that is inclusive of age, sensory and developmentally appropriate playground equipment and free of barriers for visitors with physical challenges.”

Celebrating their grand prize

Posted on October 19, 2011 by PlayLSI

Wheaton Park District will celebrate their grand prize winning from the Together We Play™ essay contest with an event open to the community at 6 p.m. on Oct. 19. Local government officials, Shane’s Inspiration and Landscape Structures representatives will be present. The location of the event is at Wheaton Village Hall in the Gamon Room, 303 W. Wesley Street. Wheaton Park District representatives will be speaking about their winning essay and new playground. There will also be a $150,000 check presentation from Shane’s Inspiration and Landscape Structures to the Wheaton Park District.

Read more about the Sensory Garden Playground Initiative and the project kick-off celebration at the Daily Herald.

Imagine…

Posted on October 12, 2011 by PlayLSI

We read so many great essays when deciding the winners of the Together We Play™ contest, and want to share with you excerpts from the winning submissions. Here is part of what drew us in to learn more about the Sensory Garden Playground Initiative at the Wheaton Park District in Wheaton, Ill.

Imagine the sounds of happy children running, climbing, swinging and digging, while parents chat nearby. Imagine the relaxing atmosphere of unstructured play which encourages problem-solving and socialization among peers. Imagine entire families enjoying recreation together.

Now imagine the nightmare a park can be for families of children with sensory processing problems–too much noise, too much contact, no place to withdraw safely. Imagine the panic of parents when a child on sensory overload runs away, or the embarrassment when their child becomes overwhelmed and bites or hits another child. Imagine a family’s frustration at not being able to enjoy a park atmosphere because the facility isn’t safe and welcoming for a child with special emotional needs.

We imagined all this and more.

Then we saw a safely fenced play area with room for children to spread out, surrounded by a fitness trail for adults. We saw surfacing where wheeled devices move easily and equipment is designed to engage sight, hearing, smell, movement and touch. We saw places where a child can withdraw easily and safely, so that each one can learn to regulate his or her own sensory input. We saw a welcoming place where whole families can relax and engage and enjoy their time together.

We saw the need for a multi-community effort to build a world-class facility, and we are ready and willing to lead in making it a reality.

An amusement park for all

Posted on September 9, 2011 by PlayLSI

How often do you struggle to find family-friendly outings that offer fun activities…and also cater to everyone’s varying abilities? Families and vacationers near San Antonio, Texas, don’t have to look far. Morgan’s Wonderland, the world first ultra-accessible family fun park, provides a place where all ages and abilities can come together and play in a fun and safe environment.

Featured in the September 2011 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, the article discusses how Morgan’s Wonderland started. Morgan Hartman’s parents dreamed of a place where everyone could play together, and so they held public forums so that other parents, inclusion advocates, therapists and more could discuss and brainstorm ideas for the project.

In 2010, the inclusive theme park opened it doors and offers play experiences including Landscape Structures playground equipment; a Sensory Village that mimics a city streetscape where visitors can buy groceries, go for a simulated drive through San Antonio and be on a newscast; an accessible carousel; a music garden and much more!

Together We Play

Bringing the magic of play to communities.

Tag Archives: sensory play