By Stephen Appezzato
LITTLE SILVER – An exciting project is in the works that could be a beacon of fun for children with autism in the Two River area.
The Borough of Little Silver is in the process of planning an inclusive playground for Sickles Park. If all works out, this will be the first playground on the Peninsula designed for children with autism and those with accessibility needs.
“It is something that needs to be done on the Peninsula,” said Carlye Laido, Little Silver director of recreation. “We don’t have any playgrounds appropriate for all children in the area,” she said.
Inclusive playgrounds are designed to accommodate individuals of all abilities. Currently the project is still in the planning stage, with the borough waiting for more quote submissions from builders. Officials will submit a grant application to New Jersey’s Green Acres Jake’s Law Program, which if approved, will gift up to $750,000 for the project.
Jake’s Law – which refers to Jake’s Place, a playground in Cherry Hill created in honor of Jacob Cummings-Nasto – incentivizes counties to build inclusive playgrounds for children and adults with disabilities.
The playgrounds provide increased accessibility for visitors and incorporate features for inclusive play and equipment suitable for all. According to the borough, by design, these playgrounds create community hubs “that embrace diversity and promote social integration.”
The borough chose Sickles Park for the project because it is centrally located and easily accessible for residents and visitors.
Elizabeth Giblin, a resident and mother of four, said the proposed project will have a profound impact on her 4-year-old son Matthew who has autism.
On a trip to Maryland, Giblin and her family came across an inclusive playground. “It was amazing,” she said. When her family entered the park, the first thing she noticed was that it was gated – an important feature for inclusive playgrounds. Giblin also noted the playground had an interactive board, a type of AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) and a way many children with autism communicate.
“Right away, I was like, ‘Wow. You know what? This is a place meant for him (Matthew).’ It was just so heartwarming and all four of our children had such a great time there and really loved the park,” Giblin said.
When Giblin and her family left the play area, she asked herself, “Why don’t we have this at home?”
“I cannot believe in our area that we do not have a park like this – a park that is safe because it’s fenced, a park that has wheelchair accessibility everywhere, a park that has a communication board so that if you’re nonverbal you can communicate,” she pondered.
“And so, my husband and I just started talking about it,” she said, deciding she had to do something about the lack of accessible play areas.
Unbeknownst to Giblin, the Borough of Little Silver had already begun devising a plan to create a similar inclusive playground at Sickles Park. Borough administrator Kevin Burke contacted Giblin and invited her to be a part of the project. She was ecstatic.
“I want this probably more than anyone in the world. This just seems like fate, like I was supposed to be part of this,” Giblin said.
Giblin and Laido worked together to plan the proposed playground, including meeting with different recreation companies at the site for consultations, communicating with other parents and even running focus groups.
Consulting parents in the community, Giblin and Laido identified important features the park would need so it is ultimately not only geared toward children, but toward all visitors with limited accessibility.
The Jake’s Law grant program is in a pilot phase this year. Under the grant terms, the borough must solicit feedback from the community on the proposal. On the borough’s website, residents can submit an online form sharing their views and recommendations for the project.
“The feedback we’ve had so far has been very positive. We’ve reached out in different avenues – focus groups, it’s online, over at the library – and so far, so good,” Laido said.
Additionally, a public hearing on the playground will take place Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. Residents are encouraged to attend to discuss the proposal. Following the meeting, the borough will submit its application for state funding.
“I strongly and passionately believe that every single child should have a safe place to play, but I think that it goes beyond children and goes to the community at large and how we accommodate an aging community, a community that has an increasing special needs population, and how do we make sure that we have a place where everybody is welcome and everyone is safe,” said Giblin.
The article originally appeared in the January 25 – January 31, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
