Communication boards making Kapiti Coast playgrounds more accessible

The Kāpiti Coast District Council is on a mission to make playgrounds places that all tamariki can enjoy and the latest additions are communication boards for non-speaking people.

The boards are being welcomed by the Ellison whānau who visit the playground at Haruātai Park in Ōtaki once or twice a week.

Five-year-old Taiamokura Ellison has autism and communicates with sounds or movement instead of words.

The communication board displays the same pictures and reo her whānau use at home on a smaller board to understand her feelings and desires.

“There's a lot more exposure to non-verbal and autism and taikiwātanga tamariki so this here is evidence of the world accepting more and believing in other communications, you know talking is just one option you can use,” pāpā Leon Ellison told 1News.

“Gives us a little bit more security and safety of we can communicate with her, and if that’s not working like physically or whatever, we can come to this core board and use it,” he said.

Kāpiti Coast District Council consulted with speech language therapist Kristina Pinto and TalkLink Trust to work off existing boards installed in Gisborne. Local whānau with non-speaking children also provided guidance for the board’s creation and a local translator made the te reo Māori version appropriate for the region’s dialect.

“It's important that we continue to make the connections to really understand what our quieter members of the public need because we know that play is in decline and we need to support it,” Kāpiti Coast District Council play projects coordinator Cat Wylde said.

“We need to ensure that we don't leave people behind."

Each aspect of the board has been carefully considered with specific colours for word types and sign language displayed for relevant words, which some whānau with non-speaking members also use to communicate. The council has added facilities, such as a nearby splash pad, to the board to give children more choices for communicating what they want to do.

Communication boards are now being installed at other playgrounds in the region, including at Lorna Irene Drive Reserve playground in Raumati South.

Nationally, more communication boards have been installed in recent years too.

Whangarei, Gisborne and Auckland also have at least one board at a playground and boards are planned for installation in Whanganui, Wellington, Porirua, Napier and Hamilton.

"There's some great work happening so as much as we can keep sharing these projects that are really successful and making a difference, we're a better nation for it," Wylde said.

"Cost should not be a barrier for this, at the end of the day it wasn’t that expensive."

Her advice for other councils is to have conversations with community members who experience accessibility issues at the start of the design process.

“That’s been a key part of our success.”

Ellison said he’s grateful for the council’s playground addition and for the te reo Māori version.

“Anybody out there that’s using this, keep doing it and exposing it to all your family and your friends and just the wider community because the resources really work."

“I'm 100% in agreement that this is helping our family with her communication,” he said.

Tairāwhiti Gisborne: Hauora Tairāwhiti Playground, Lions Junior Cycle Park, Adventure Playground, Te Karaka playground, Patutahi playground, Botanical Gardens and five playgrounds along the East Coast.

Whangarei: Town Basin Park, Mander Park and Mair Park.

Auckland: Te Pua Keith Park

Kapiti Coast: Haruatai Park and Lorna Irene Drive Reserve playground

Whanganui: Kowhai Park and Lorenzdale Park

Whangarei: New playground under construction

Wellington: Frank Kitts Park and Botanic Garden ki Paekākā.

Napier: Anderson Park (late January).

Hamilton: Magical Bridge Playground.

Porirua: Te Rauparaha Arena pool and Cannons Creek pool (late January).

Auckland: Gould Reserve playground

Kapiti Coast: Aorangi Road Reserve, Mazengarb Reserve, Maclean Park, Marine Gardens and Campbell Park.

*Not an exhaustive list.