Everyone in the family gets to play. Not watch.
Ground-level play, firm paths, swings anyone can use, sensory gardens, quiet corners. Design that starts with how a specific child moves, sees, hears and feels, and builds the yard around that.
How we approach it
Start with the child. Then the yard.
Every family that comes to us with a child who has a disability comes with specifics. A wheelchair, a walker, low vision, a sensory processing profile, a sibling who needs the yard to work for both of them. There isn't an "inclusive package." There's a conversation with you, and often with the child's therapists, about what a good afternoon outside looks like for this kid, right now, and in a few years.
What follows are the tools we reach for most often.
Ground‑level play
A lot of what makes play good doesn't need height. Sand and water tables at seated height, music panels, spinning and rocking elements, a stream table, a chalk wall, a mud kitchen with a knee space under the counter. We design ground-level play to be the heart of the yard, not the consolation prize beside the tower.
Routes and surfaces
Firm, stable, slip-resistant paths, wide enough for a chair and a friend walking alongside, with gentle grades and no lips at transitions. Poured-in-place rubber or turf over a firm base under the play zone so a chair can get to the play, not just look at it. Engineered wood fiber, sand and loose gravel are avoided on the main routes.
Getting on
Transfer platforms at the right height for a specific child to move from a chair onto a deck, with grab points. Ramps where the yard allows them. Slides with a wide, low exit that lands beside the path.
Swinging
Supportive seats with a harness, platform swings a chair can roll onto, and nest swings that hold a child lying down. Swinging is the most-requested inclusive feature, and one of the most regulating for many kids.
Sensory design
Plants to touch and smell (lamb's ear, lavender, thyme underfoot), a music wall, a water feature for sound, textured paths, and, just as important, a quiet space: a small enclosed nook with shade and soft seating where a kid can step out of the noise and come back when they're ready.
Sightlines and side‑by‑side play
Parents need to see. Siblings need to play near each other without being forced onto the same equipment. We design "parallel" play: a sand table beside the climbing wall, a music panel across the path from the swings, so kids with different abilities are in the same place doing their own thing, together.
Inclusive possibilities
Plus supportive swings, transfer platforms, sensory panels and quiet nooks, which we design to the child.
Plain language
What we do and don't claim.
The ADA applies to public places, not private backyards, and its playground standards were written for public play areas. We use those standards and the concepts behind them, along with universal design principles, as our reference for things like route width, surface firmness and transfer heights. But we won't describe a residential yard as "ADA compliant" unless a specific element has been designed and verified to a specific standard, and we'll say which one.
What we'll tell you instead is what a feature does: "this path is 60 inches wide, firm, with a grade under 5%," or "this transfer platform is 16 inches high with a grab bar." Specific beats reassuring. If your child's therapist wants dimensions, we'll give them dimensions.
We also don't pretend to be therapists. We build. The best inclusive yards we've designed came out of listening to an OT or PT describe what a child is working on, and building that into the fun.
Questions parents ask
Inclusive play FAQ
Will an inclusive yard look clinical?
No. Wide paths read as generous garden paths. Poured rubber can be earth-toned. A platform swing looks like a fun swing, because it is. The best inclusive design is invisible; what you notice is that everyone's out there.
Can you work with our child's therapy team?
Yes, and we'd like to. A short conversation with an OT or PT early in design changes what we draw. We can also build in features they've asked for, like specific transfer heights or a sensory sequence along a path.
What about siblings without disabilities?
They get the climbing wall and the zip line too. Inclusive doesn't mean everything is for everyone; it means everyone has a place. We design the challenge features and the accessible features to sit next to each other.
Is a splash pad accessible?
Very. Zero-depth water play on a firm surface is one of the most inclusive features there is. We keep at least one jet and a start button reachable from a chair and grade the pad so a chair can roll through.
Tell us about your kid. All of them.
The more we know up front, the better the yard fits.