Designing for Inclusive Play: ADHD (Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder)
Designing for Inclusive Play: ADHD (Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder)
According to the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, it’s estimated that one in 20 children in Australia have Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It is more common in boys than girls. For further information on ADHD in children, visit the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne website here.
Personality Strengths of People with ADHD
- Being energetic. Some individuals with ADHD often have seemingly endless amounts of energy that they’re able to channel toward success on the playing field, in school, or at work!
- Being spontaneous; They may be the life of the party, and willing to try new things and break free from the status quo!
- Being creative and inventive. Living with ADHD may give the person a different perspective on life and encourage them to approach tasks and situations with a thoughtful eye.
- Some people with ADHD may become hyper focused on a task, so much so that they may not even notice the world around them. The benefit to this is that, when given an assignment, a person with ADHD may work at it until its completion without breaking concentration.
Challenges Faced by Children with ADHD
Children who have ADHD may:
- Be easily distracted by images & sounds
- Have an overactive mind
- Find it difficult to focus on one task or activity
- Be overly impulsive and don’t curb their automatic reactions
- Be more accident prone and difficult to manage.
- Have trouble with turn taking
- Get bored quickly
ADHD & Play
Children with ADHD happen to experience milder symptoms if they play in outdoor settings, such as open fields and playgrounds, so it’s important to design spaces which will keep them busy for as long as possible, as they’ll have a healthy and safe way to burn that restlessness.
Children with ADHD also have big imaginations. Creative activities complement the ADHD child’s mind. This naturally means that themed play is guaranteed success for kids with ADHD.
Bouldering is a great way to channel that excessive energy out. It requires complete attention and concentration on figuring out where their next hand and foot placement will be. It also fosters an adrenaline rush as they climb higher and higher, trying to reach the goal of conquering that peak – this helps those with ADHD to focus on the route and their climbing.
Different paths on the bouldering structure give kids plenty of different ways of approaching the climb, with varying levels of difficulty- keeping them entertained yet focused
Team activities and sports may frustrate those with ADHD as there is so much going on all at one time. Bouldering is an individual activity, and so children find it easier to focus on the climb.
We also suggest the following equipment
- NRG+ Trails
- Bonnie the Boat
- Themed Play Units
- Bronco Spinner
- OmniWarrior Ninja Courses
- Multi-Use Game Arena
- SGM1007
About Austek Play
At Austek Play, we are committed to providing innovate play spaces for everyone to enjoy. We want to help create spaces that celebrate the unique qualities that we all have and ensure we design spaces that allows these qualities to shine.
The most important and often overlooked step in designing inclusive play spaces is gaining a thorough understanding of the various disabilities present in our community, and how best to cater for the broad spectrum of challenges these users face.
We will be focusing on one disability every week up until the 3rd of December, which is the International Day of People with Disability. We’ll be giving some general information on specific disabilities and then outline some of the innovative ways which we recommend addressing those challenges when designing your future play space with Austek Play.
Together, we can make Australian Playgrounds more inclusive!
