Contact Us

Email Us at:
allplay@dreamplayground.org

Project Manager: Ashley Ogle
Phone: (865) 403-1194
aogle@kcdc.org

Fund-raising: Don Barksdale
Phone: (865) 686-9466
dwbark@bellsouth.net

Playground Design: Jim Howlett
Phone: (865) 938-3827
JEH37849@aol.com

Playground Construction: Chip Maner
Phone: (865) 577-2436

Disability Resource Center: Katherine Moore or Lillian Burch
Phone: (865) 637-3666

Playground Gardens: Jana Graziano, Sertoma Center
Phone: (865) 524-5555 Ext.254
janagraz@yahoo.com

Playground Website: Garry Clark
Phone: (865) 755-9113
garryclark@gmail.com

Inspiration

The experiences of a little girl named Ashley Nicole Manes and her younger sister, Allison, are the inspiration to build a universally accessible playground in Knoxville. Ashley and Allison were involved in a fatal car accident with their mother in Powell in 1999. Ashley, who was four years old at the time, received the most severe injuries in the accident, even though she was properly restrained. Her neck was broken; and now, she is paralyzed from her neck down.

After a long stay in the hospital and rehabilitation centers, Ashley is back home with her parents and 3 year-old sister, Allison. The whole family is learning to live differently than they had ever imagined. Many things have changed for them. The most important things have not changed though. For instance, before the car accident, Ashley was a fun-loving, bright, playful, particularly bold, and precocious little girl, and she still very much is. Ashley's body changed dramatically, but her essence has not changed. And since returning home from the hospital, the family has resumed their life. Ashley's parents have taken her to church, to the Children's Rehabilitation Center, to parties and cookouts with friends, to the zoo and to community playgrounds with her little sister. Remarkably, of all these places, the playgrounds are the least fun for Ashley, because she cannot participate.

The Need

As many as one child in seven in Tennessee and Knoxville schools have some form of disability. In 2002-03, Knoxville Public Schools had 8,299 students with some form of disability, some of which were severe. In addition, Blount and Anderson Counties add 3,620 to that total. People with disabilities are our country's largest minority. Disabilities cross age, ethnic, gender, and economic backgrounds.

In addition, parents or grandparents who have a mobility or sight disability cannot play with or properly supervise their children and grandchildren at conventional playgrounds. There are accounts where mothers in wheelchairs could not get to their children who had fallen off swings at community playgrounds. Railroad ties and other architectural barriers may hinder or prohibit disabled caregivers from reaching or assisting their children in an emergency.

Even playgrounds that meet the criteria set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are generally much less than 30% accessible. ADA criteria simply do not ensure meaningful participation of children with severe disabilities.

• ADA does not require that playgrounds have accessible surfacing to allow a child to get around within the entire playground area. Children with disabilities may only be able to reach a certain point in the playground. They may be limited to paths that only lead to the ramps and transfer decks. They cannot join other children who are running all over the playground.
• Children may only be able to play by leaving their wheelchair or other adaptive device, like a walker or crutches. This is not ideal, because children are typically uncomfortable leaving their wheelchairs. It can be embarrassing for them. More importantly, people who use wheelchairs generally come to view the chair as a lifeline. Therefore, it is frightening for children and otherwise impractical to expect children to leave their adaptive device behind. Our proposed playground will incorporate some equipment that does not require a child to have to leave their adaptive devices behind.

Playgrounds are not required to use Braille signage or to incorporate sensory-rich areas to accommodate children who have cognitive, learning, or sensory disabilities, even though these areas are equally fun for kids who do not have disabilities.

Wish List

To donate any of these items please contact the Sertoma Center Greenhouse at (865) 524-5555 x254. Butterfly Bush (purple) Butterfly Weed Curly Willow Dianthus Dutchman's Pipe Goldenrod Ironweed Joe Pye Weed Lavendar Lamb's Ear Lily Lantana Pink Pampas Grass Purple Cone Flower Red Hot Poker Redbud Trees Rosemary Sedum Autumn Joy Weeping Willow