Can we play together? Inclusive playgrounds as an example to enhance resilience in public spaces

Background: Play is one of the central occupations of children and essentially contributes to children’s physical, cognitive and social development, wellbeing and participation in society. The playground, as a public space, provides children with opportunities for play, social interaction and participation and can become a place to build resilience. For children with disabilities, however, participation in playgrounds is often limited due to environmental barriers. Objective: The project aims to identify resources and challenges regarding the participation and inclusion of children with and without disabilities on inclusive playgrounds. Methods: Observations of children playing on six inclusive playgrounds located in Switzerland have been collected. The observations were explored with a transactional perspective. Results: The application of universal design in the construction of inclusive playgrounds enables all children to participate. However, children with disabilities are rarely socially included on inclusive playgrounds. Suggestions to apply a transactional perspective as one way to enhance social inclusion and help to build up resilience will be illustrated. Conclusion: Considering occupational science theories could enable occupational therapist to become active on community level and to increase social inclusion and resilience on public playgrounds.