Introduction
For children with disabilities, therapy services and sessions can be life-changing, allowing them to develop the necessary skills to participate in everyday activities and reach their full potential. Whether a child receives physical, speech, or occupational therapy, these services help them build key skills necessary for daily life. During pediatric therapy sessions, trained professionals often find fun ways to teach and develop a child’s skills through games, activities, or exercises, so it is no surprise that some therapists opt to utilize a playground during their sessions to allow their patient to practice their skills in an engaging and exciting environment.
While often overlooked, playground equipment is essential to a child’s early development and skill-building. As discussed in our blog, “Playground Planning: Choosing Equipment for Skill Building,” playground equipment is thoughtfully crafted to disguise skill-building tools as play.
To understand how playgrounds are utilized in therapeutic play, we consulted DFW’s own, KidsCare Home Health. KidsCare is a pediatric home health agency serving children with special needs across the country. They have won numerous awards nationally as a Top Place to Work and provide nursing, speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy to children with disabilities. The professionals we consulted with for this blog include the owner and speech therapist, Dr. Cortney Baker, occupational therapist, Vicki Larson, and physical therapist, Kelly Kaskavage.
In this blog, we will discuss how to intentionally use playground equipment to practice a child’s skills that they might learn in their therapy sessions.
Understanding Physical Therapy
What is physical therapy?
Pediatric physical therapy assesses, diagnoses, and treats children with movement difficulties, developmental delays, disabilities, or injuries. It addresses conditions like congenital disorders (e.g., Down syndrome, Spina bifida, muscular dystrophy), injuries, and neurological disorders (e.g., cerebral palsy, Autism). Therapists also help children with muscle weakness, coordination issues, and toe-walking.
What are the goals of physical therapy?
During pediatric physical therapy, a licensed therapist helps patients enhance their mobility, independence, and quality of life. While goals differ based on individual needs, common objectives include improving posture, gross motor skills, muscle strength, balance, coordination, pain management, and endurance. The therapy primarily focuses on functional mobility at home and in the community.
What are common activities, exercises, and teachings during a physical therapy session?
Physical therapists, like Kelly Kaskavage, make sessions engaging by incorporating games and movement to target specific functional deficits. They work to enhance gross motor skills, balance, coordination, muscle strength, endurance, motor planning, and proprioception. Activities might include jumping, throwing or catching a ball, walking on various surfaces, navigating obstacles, transitioning between positions, running, and biking. Essentially, any activity that boosts physical movement can serve as a physical therapy exercise.
Physical Therapy Equipment and Exercises: Transitioning Lessons to Playground Fun
Therapist Perspective for Open Ended Play Structure:
“An open-ended play structure presents an array of challenges that can be highly beneficial in physical therapy. Activities can target balance and coordination, enhance problem-solving skills, and promote muscle strength as children navigate through different activities. As a physical therapist, I love open-ended play structures for their ability to keep children engaged and motivated. They offer a dynamic and fun way to address various therapeutic goals and improve gross motor skills.” - Kelly Kaskavage, PT, MPT
Playground Design Insights for Open Ended Play Structure:
Open ended/unscripted play structures provide a different play experience for each child. With different net climbing challenges and multiple routes for exploration, equipment pieces like the Crab Trap®, Quantis®, and Volo™ keep kids engaged throughout playtime.
Therapist Perspective for Tower Structures:
“Tower structures are the ultimate climbing and playing experience that turns physical therapy into an exciting adventure. A physical therapist can incorporate this structure to work on full-body movement and different sections can be utilized depending on the child’s current abilities and goals. Activities include jumping, exploring, climbing, and navigating different surfaces – all while strengthening muscles, challenging balance, and improving coordination. A tower structure is a fun way to enhance full-body movement and tackle balance challenges; it can also be a huge confidence boost when a child successfully overcomes a fear or challenge.” - Kelly Kaskavage, PT, MPT
Playground Design Insights for Tower Structures:
Tower structures like Super NetPlex® and Alpha Link® offer diverse challenges for each child to conquer. Whether it’s climbing the net or making it up to the top of the structure, children can conquer their fears in a safe and fun environment. The Super NetPlex® Tower is also fully inclusive by providing transfer modules leading to an accessible route to slides.
Therapist Perspective for Steppers:
“Steppers can be a challenging piece of equipment that can be used to enhance full-body coordination and improve muscle strength. Utilizing both the upper and lower body during this activity also challenges motor planning and body awareness. If a child struggles with stairs, this piece of equipment can be used to facilitate that movement and work on the activity in a fun way.” - Kelly Kaskavage, PT, MPT
Playground Design Insights for Steppers:
Steppers like the Mushroom, Log or Footprint® steppers enhance discovery and exploration as kids work on balance and multi-level climbing. Try arranging Pod Climbers® in a nonlinear pattern to give kids a fun challenge as they navigate from one side to the other. As they cross paths with friends, it adds an extra test of balance and coordination.
Understanding Speech/Language Therapy
What is speech therapy?
Speech and language therapy supports children with speech, language, communication, and oral motor challenges, helping them understand, communicate, and socialize effectively at home and in the community. This therapy is particularly beneficial for children with disabilities like down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, and other communication delays.
What are the goals of speech therapy?
Speech therapy enhances both verbal and non-verbal communication, including speech production, articulation, language comprehension and expression, feeding, swallowing, and social skills. It also aims to strengthen speech muscles and improve the ability to vocalize needs and wants. Dr. Cortney Baker, a licensed speech pathologist, focuses on teaching essential communication skills for daily functioning and safety.
What are common activities, exercises, and teachings during a physical therapy session?
Common speech therapy activities include tongue and mouth exercises, facial movements, reading aloud, and word games. Pediatric speech therapy often incorporates play, such as sequencing activities, memorization puzzles, or language-based games. Key lessons may involve turn-taking, memorization, auditory processing, cause and effect, and decision-making.
Speech Therapy Equipment and Exercises: Transitioning Lessons to Playground Fun
Therapist Perspective for Enclosed Spaces:
“For patients with conditions like Autism, Cozy Domes provide the perfect environment children can retreat to when over-stimulated. Cozy Domes can also be utilized as a speech therapy tool through interactive play and games like Peek-A-Boo.” - Dr. Cortney Baker, CCC/SLP
Playground Design Insights for Enclosed Spaces:
Enclosed spaces like the Fox Den®, Cozy Dome®, and Tunnels are designed to offer a place to escape from the hustle and bustle of a busy playground. These enclosed spaces allow children to take time by themselves when overstimulated or play with other children in a smaller setting. Although these spaces are closed off, parents and supervisors, or therapists, can keep an eye on their kids through the peepholes.
Therapist Perspective for Open Dialogue:
“Playgrounds naturally provide opportunities for decision-making and turn-taking, but for speech therapy patients, vocalizing decisions can be challenging. By encouraging vocal communication about which activity a child wants to do next, they can practice vocalizing their wants and needs and develop their decision-making skills.” - Dr. Cortney Baker, CCC/SLP
Playground Design Insights for Open Dialogue:
Interactive Panels with games like tic-tac-toe, mazes, or puzzles encourage children to communicate and collaborate with others to complete tasks. Playhouses or themed structures like the Smart Play® Centre encourage role-playing and storytelling, where children can use imaginative play to communicate and interact with their peers. And for non-verbal children communication boards that feature symbols, pictures, or words that children can point to or press, can help them express their needs and desires.
Occupational Therapy Tools and Playground Exercises
What is occupational therapy?
Occupational therapists help patients with illnesses, disabilities, or injuries that affect daily activities. They assess needs and set goals to overcome challenges. For children, therapy focuses on developing fine motor, sensory, and visual skills through play. Common diagnoses include developmental delays, Autism, Down Syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy. Vicki Larson, an occupational therapist, says, “The best part of OT is we get to play and explore every day to find what works for each child.”
What are the goals of occupational therapy?
Occupational therapy works to improve upper extremity strength and coordination, fine motor skills, visual perception / visual motor skills, self-care skills, and sensory processing and modulation skills, allowing children to gain independence.
What are common activities, exercises, and teachings during an occupational therapy session?
Every child is unique, but many KidsCare Home Health clients face sensory challenges, making it difficult for them to process their surroundings—like sounds, textures, and visuals. Occupational therapists, like Vicki Larson, focus on enhancing children's strength and coordination through play, as more kids today are sedentary and spend less time outdoors. Activities include running, throwing, kicking a ball, jumping, swinging, and biking.
Occupational Therapy Equipment and Exercises: Transitioning Lessons to Playground Fun
Therapist Perspective for Pulse:
“An Occupational therapist could utilize Pulse to develop hand-eye coordination and reaction time while a child engages in play with peers. It allows a child to engage in sensory play while interacting with the light sensors. Cause and effect activities are great to encourage motor language learning as well as fine motor control.” - Vicki Larson, OTR, MOT
Playground Design Insights for Pulse:
Pulse® is a multisensory playground game that encourages movement in an exciting way. Stimulating LED light patterns and sounds helps kids develop hand-eye coordination, action/reaction skills, and encourages muscle movement. There are many ways to play with Pulse®, like Pulse® Tennis, Pulse Table Tennis, and Pulse® Tempo.
Therapist Perspective for Sensory Panels:
“Children need sensory play to engage all 8 sensory systems and allow their body to process the information. Sensory panels allow a child to explore what their body needs to feel regulated or calm, and what may cause uncertainty. A child, as well as all humans, constantly get feedback and information from our environment to help us regulate.” - Vicki Larson, OTR, MOT
Playground Design Insights for Sensory Panels:
Sensory panels are designed to give children a unique sensory experience to meet their sensory needs. Various options of sensory panels are available including Bongos, Xylofun, Fun Mirror, Kaleidospin, Marbles, Optigear, and Rain Sound Wheel. These panels are designed to accommodate the needs of a child and having a wide variety of different panels available on one playscape allows for a child to interact with what they need most.
Therapist Perspective for Musical Instruments:
“Musical instruments can help children work on developing smooth movements that are necessary for other activities such as walking and running. Many children have sensitivity to sound, so this allows them to engage and respond to noise in a controlled and fun environment.” - Vicki Larson, OTR, MOT
Playground Design Insights for Musical Instruments:
Music engages all ages and all abilities. Instruments within the Rhapsody® Outdoor Musical Instrument line provide children with a wide range of different options to explore their sensory needs and musical abilities.
Conclusion
“Every child’s occupation is to play.” ~ Vicki Larson
In conclusion, playgrounds offer much more than just a place for fun—they are powerful tools for therapeutic development. By thoughtfully incorporating playground equipment into therapy sessions, professionals can create engaging and dynamic environments that help children build essential skills. Whether it's physical, speech, or occupational therapy, the various structures and activities available on playgrounds provide unique opportunities for children to practice and enhance their abilities in ways that are both enjoyable and effective. With the expert insights from KidsCare Home Health, it's clear that the integration of playgrounds into therapy can lead to significant progress in a child's development, making these spaces not just for play, but for growth and learning as well.
Put these lessons into practice by exploring playgrounds near you by visiting our Find a Playground page.