Proposal for Playground Design

Some things I've learnt about children who are visually handicapped:

People who are visually handicapped can be partially sighted, have low vision, legally blind or totally blind. They can learn via Braille or other non-visual media. Vision loss of a person could be resulting from disease, trauma or a congenital or degenerative condition.

How to Help Them

To make these people feel more a home when communicating with us, we need to give these people support and interact with them. Treating them as one of us and making them feel welcome is the first step to getting them to open up to us. This will make them feel accepted, normal, more confident and just like any other normal children. This was the case of the way Jess treated Leslie as opposed to the way Wanda Kay treated Leslie.

Current State of Playgrounds

Playgrounds in Singapore are not sensitive to the visually impaired children. The materials used to make the playground is mostly metal. The visually impaired children may fall and be seriously injured by the metal. Some playgrounds also use sand to break the fall of the other children, however they do not take into consideration whether or not the sand will agggravate the condition of the visually impaired children. The facilities in the plaground also does not enable them to enjoy using the playground. ( No form of communication like Braille to warn them)They may fall easily as there are no railings to hold on to and to guide them.

How To Improve

We can make the playground more need-sensitive to the visually handicapped children by using a rubber floor. Hence, there is friction and they will not fall or hurt themselves. In addition, we can make the windows smaller so that there will not be any accidents.

Inspiration from the novel

From the novel, some ideas I would use in my playground are:

1. The imaginary kingdom which both Jess and Leslie created. Since most visually impaired children do not depend heavily on their sense of sight, we decided to stir their imagination. Thus, our theme of the playground is fantasy, a land where toys like teddy bears comes alive. thus it is easier for them to play as they go about their own fantasy storyline.


2. Leslie would share stories that she had read with Jess, stories like Hamlet and Moby Dick. Therefore, books that are of Braillie and words could be placed in one corner for both visually handicapped children and other people. Members of the public are welcome however they are advised to give way to the visually impaired counterparts.


3. Visually handicapped children tend not to fit in with other children, just like Jess and Leslie. They either isolate themselves from society or they are snubbed by people who think that they are different and are hence prejudiced (Les;ie was asked not to take part in the race as she is a girlwill avoid or make fun of them. Therefore, we should let them experience a totally new world where they are the rulers) and , we should also show that they rule their own destinies and should not let other people be their masters. The childen will not be snubbed as the other children has the same problems as them. The playground provides crowns for the children.


4. We can put some motivational banners(in braille and english) in the playground to encourage the visually impaired children to believe in themselves. This idea came from the part where Miss Edmunds encouraged Jess to draw more. And in the playground where Leslie asked Jess to draw a picture of the castle but Jess said he haven't got the feel of the place yet although he was itching to draw the castle out, and when Leslie was telling her stories. Some phrases we can put up is:
   'Climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow, till you find your dream ...'

Materials that we are using:( eco friendly?)
Plywood:
We are using plywood for the base of the 3D model. The plywood will be taken from the scrap wood from construction sites. This will ensure that the plywood is recycled and will be reused so the plywood won't go to waste.

Sponge:
The sponge will be used for holding the walls in place. The sponge will be used sponge that is taken from homes.

Ice-Cream Sticks:
The ice-cream sticks will be used for the consruction of the outer walls of the playground.The ice-cream sticks has been used from previous projects.


Contributed by: Group

Research: Needs of Visually Impaired Children

The Unique Needs of the Visually Impaired Children

Vision is the primary learning modality and source of information for most children. No other sense can stimulate curiosity, integrate information or invite exploration In the same way, or as efficiently and fully, as vision does. A child who comes into the world without a dependable visual system, or without vision at all, has to navigate through the incomplete messages received through the other sensory modalities in order to put a whole picture of the world together. The visually impaired child needs to determine how to organize this incomplete information and then respond to what may remain a confusing view of the world.

The child who is legally blind may not learn to do things by visual imitation, an integral pathway to learning during early development. Thus, her ability to understand basic life concepts, and the process by which most life tasks are accomplished and brought to completion, is seriously compromised.

Without these essential pieces of information about the world, the ability of the legally blind child to develop effective problem solving skills, a cornerstone to cognition, is seriously challenged. The legally blind child Is often left to depend upon the verbal description of the world given him by a sighted person whose view of reality does not match with what the blind person is experiencing. Instruction specific to his disability is essential for the young child who is blind or visually impaired in order to meet his unique needs.

Cognitive Needs
-Strategies to compensate for the lack of dependable sensory and experiential information available to the visually impaired infant.
-Exposure to a wide variety of environmental experiences in natural settings to allow the child to generalize learned skills in new settings.
Gross and Fine Motor Needs
-Physical Therapy and/or Occupational Therapy to overcome the effects of limited motor experiences on muscle development.
-Training and support to move out into the environment. The infant who is blind or low vision does not have the visual motivation that prompts the development of early motor milestones.
Vision Needs
-Regular functional vision evaluations.
-Caregiver understanding of and response to, the unique characteristics of the Visually Impaired child's visual diagnosis.
-Vision stimulation activities in the context of naturally occurring events to encourage the use of residual vision, when appropriate.
-Access to adapted visual aides (glasses, contacts, sunglasses, etc.).
Communication Needs
-Early nurturing interactions with a consistent, significant caregiver.
-Recognition of the unique responses of visually impaired infants to the introduction of new voices and sounds.
-Simultaneous verbal description of activities in which the visually impaired child is engaged.
Social and Emotional Needs
-Early exposure to age- appropriate skills for daily living: eating, dressing, toileting.
-Additional support to motivate the child to interact with family members and others within the extended family and community.
-Play opportunities with selective adult encouragement to interact with age mates takes on added significance for the legally blind child who is unable to visually imitate the play skills of other children

Adapted from: http://www.tsbvi.edu/Education/infant-needs.htm

Done by: Lim Yu Shan(13)

Research: Visually Handicapped People, What It Means?

Visually handicapped

What does visually handicapped mean?
It means being partially sighted, having low vision, being legally blind, and being totally blind, these terms are used in the educational context to describe students with visual impairments.
The above are defined as follows:
1. Partially sighted
This indicates some type of visual problem, with a need of person to receive special education in some cases
2. Low vision
This refers to severe visual impairment, not limited to distance vision. It applies to all individuals with sight, who are unable to read the newspaper at a normal viewing distance, with the aid of eyeglasses or contact lenses. They use a combination of vision and other senses to learn, although they may require adaptations in lighting or the size of print, and sometimes Braille.
3. Legally blind
Legally blind indicates that a person has less than 20/200 vision in the better eye after correction (contact lenses or glasses), or a field of vision of less than 20 degrees in the better eye.
4. Totally blind
These are students who learn via Braille or other non-visual media.

What does it mean by being visually handicapped?
Visual impairment is vision loss of a person having reduced vision, a handicap that constitutes a significant limitation of visual capability resulting from disease, trauma or a congenital or degenerative condition that cannot be corrected by conventional means, including refractive correction, medication, or surgery.


Taken from: wikipedia.com
By Valerie

Research: Playground in Tampines

Playground in Tampines

As we can see from the picture beside, the floor is quite hard and it could hurt children who ride the slide. I still like the roof though... it could provide shelter for children from the rain and heat. Colour is not an important matter as the playground is for

visually impaired children.

I like the playground on the right because it is not so high. If the playground is too high, it could hurt children who fall down. I also like the rubber ground because it will reduce the impact when falling and also because sand could irritate the eyes.

This playground on the left is not desirable because there are no handrails and it is too high. visually impaired children would have accident here. The sand ground could irritate the eyes.

~Made by Alvita (1)

Research:The Braille system

Background:

It is a method used by blind people to read and write which was devised in 1821 by Louis Braille, a Frenchman. Each Braille character (or cell) is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two columns of three dots each.The positions are universally numbered from top to bottom 1 to 3 (on the left) and 4 to 6 (on the right).

Braille alphabets & numbers:

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braille (information)

http://educ.queensu.ca/~fmc/may2004/images/braille04.png (picture)

By: Jia Yin

Organisation and Planning: Brief information & roles

Target group for playground: Visually impaired children

Brief description:
Floor- soft material ( rubber)
Has a lot of plastic railings
Walls (netting)
Braille- to aid them to read the signs
Music (soothing) such as instrumental/classical

Roles
Leader: Saradevi
Secretary: Yu shan & Jia Yin
Research I/C: Valerie & Jia Yin
Design I/C: Alvita & Saradevi
Presenter I/C: Saradevi & Alvita
Builder I/C: Yushan & Valerie

Research: Playground in Tampines Street 12 Blk 145

These are the pictures of a playground that I took in Tampines Street 12, near Block 145. This playground is a lot larger than other playgrounds I have seen. In addition, the designs of the playground is special and appealing, especially the yellow steps and the monkey bar. However, the colours used is not attractive. Sand is used in this playground. I feel that it is both a good and a bad idea. It is a good idea as children will not have a serious injury when they fall while it is a bad idea for the visually handicapped children as some children are playful, they may kick or throw the sand on someone. If sand goes into their eyes, their eyesight may become worse.

Done By: Lim Yu Shan(13)

Research: Playground In Tampines by Saradevi

Playground 1

There is a shelter at playground 1 & the designs are pretty much okay but the steps tend to be slippery which is something I think should not be included in our project.Its slippery because I once fell there with a big bruise on my knee.

Playground 2

This another playground at Tampines.It too has a shelter to prevent rain & the design is fine with rubber floor which is anti-slip that is good for children.

Research:Playgrounds in Tampines

Here are some pictures of the playgrounds in Tampines.

This is the picture of the playground in Changkat Community Centre. I feel that this is very unique as it is in a community centre and since I don't live in Tampines I find that it is a very creative idea. the playground has a very rustic feel to it. This is because of the materials such as wood used in the Community Centre. I feel as if i have gone back in time.

I took this picture at Tampines Tree Garden. I think this is a children's haven as the playground is so big. There are many slides in the playground. However the clolours of the playground is too gloomy. the yellow slide looks like it is the main part of the playground as it stands out among the dull colours.

These are the pictures I took of in Tampines park. the area of the playground is very big and the design is very unique. The colours are also very vibrant. The part of the playground that is shaped like a pineapple and a slice of watermelon is what stikes me most. There is also sand to break the fall of children should they fall. I also feel that the part of the playground with slides has a very good idea as most of it is sheltered.

Credits: Tampines Webtown.

-Valerie Ho

Research: Playground around Tampines area

Checkout some pictures of playground in Tampines!

Playground #1

some details found:

Comments:
Personally, I find the structure of this playground average as it seems common. As for the details, I find them unique. My favourite part is top section of the picture as it gives me a fantasy-like feeling. As for the bottom section, I find it alright but I'm puzzled why Elephants were used.

Playground #2

Comments:
I like both the colours and structure of this playground. The colours used are slightly mild as compared to the previous playground. There are many slides here and I found having a bridge between two slides an interesting layout.

Playground #3

Comments:

Due to its unique design, this is my favourite playground among the three. I think that the theme of this playground is adventure. I guess this is due to the choice of colours such as brown. Also, structures such as the trees and the shelter compliments the theme.

Observations: Swings and See-saws are rare nowadays. Colours like red, yellow, green and blue are commonly used in playgrounds. The floor is made of soft material and slides can always be found. Not all playgrounds have a shelter.

By Jia Yin