This Digest focuses on children with special needs and on inclusion as a social justice issue. Inclusion occurs when everyone is valued, viewed as contributing members of the group, feels a sense of belonging, and has meaningful opportunities to engage in the activities of the group. Unfortunately, children with special needs or differing abilities often find themselves excluded from certain settings, activities and opportunities – including active engagement with the natural world.

The first two sections of this Digest address social and physical barriers to inclusion. A third section features some promising practices promoting inclusion.

A previously published Digest focuses on the benefits of nature for children with differing abilities.

Children with special needs often face physical, neurological or sensory challenges to active engagement with nature. Ableism – a form of discrimination that favors people without disabilities – often adds to the complexity of their challenges. Ableism pathologizes people with disabilities as defective and often seeks interventions to treat or fix the abnormalities. An alternative – and more socially just – approach focuses on capabilities versus disabilities and values all children as learners, players, and community members.

Individuals with a sight impairment experience ableism as one form of discrimination

Thirty-one people with sight impairments in the UK participated in individual interviews about their nature-related experiences through the life course. Almost all of the participants indicated that they experienced feelings of freedom with nonhuman nature but that these freedoms were often denied due to ableist attitudes.
Bell, 2019. Experiencing nature with sight impairment: Seeking freedom from ableism.
Access Study

Cripping environmental education means disrupting the able-bodiedness within the field

This theoretical article calls for a shift from the medical model approach in the field of environmental education to one that recognizes disability “as valued difference, not deficiency” and that enables new ways of knowing and connecting to nature. This approach requires not only the removal of barriers to access but also a push back against ableist assumptions.
Schmidt, 2022. Cripping environmental education: Rethinking disability, nature, and interdependent futures.
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Focusing on deficits versus capabilities may limit the play experiences of children with disabilities on the school playground

Observations of five elementary children with disabilities in Australia indicated that they tended to play alone or with just one other child while on the playground. Observations of the teachers, along with document reviews and educator interviews, indicate that school staff focus on children’s deficits and hold lower expectations for children with disabilities than their mainstream peers. Overall findings suggest that educators working from a deficit-based view of children with disabilities may limit children’s play capabilities.
Sterman et al., 2020. Is play a choice? Application of the capabilities approach to children with disabilities on the school playground.
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Many children with disabilities face physical and social barriers to participation in outdoor activities. Attempts to accommodate children with special needs sometimes result in separate programs or activities. This approach is a form of exclusion and thus a social justice issue. An alternative approach provides inclusive programs and activities where children of all abilities can participate together in a meaningful way. Implementing universal design (UD) is sometimes used to address this concern. “Universal design” means planning environments to be accessible and usable by a wide range of people, regardless of age, size, or ability. Questions remain, however, about UD’s ability to meet the play needs of all children. Related research suggests that providing access to natural elements would increase inclusion opportunities. Interestingly, a recent review focusing on inclusive outdoor playspaces (Brown et al. 2021) excluded studies of natural playgrounds, noting how the affordances and play opportunities of such playspaces were inherently different than traditional playgrounds.

Physical barriers to accessibility may not be the principal way in which play/nature spaces are encountered by people with disabilities

Sixty parents/carers with children (aged 5–16) with moderate or severe learning, emotional and physical difficulties completed a questionnaire about their usage and experiences of visiting two accessible natural playspaces in North London (England). Twelve of the families also participated in follow-up interviews. While most of the respondents reported moments of joy and quality time with their children at the playspaces, they also identified physical and social barriers limiting their use of these spaces.
Horton, 2017. Disabilities, urban natures and children’s outdoor play.
Access Study

Without adapted support, youth with visual impairments may not be able to safely participate in outdoor recreation activities

Sixteen youth between the ages of 9 and 19 with visual impairments in the U.S. participated in interviews focusing on outdoor recreation experiences throughout their lives. They also kept an outdoor recreation log over a period of 30 days. Findings indicate that youth with visual impairment do participate in a variety of outdoor recreation activities but that barriers in the form of the physical environment, concern for health and safety, and lack of adequate modifications curtail their involvement.
Lieberman et al., 2023. Outdoor recreation experiences in youth with visual impairments: A qualitative inquiry.
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Designing playgrounds for inclusion may require more than a Universal Design approach

A review of 27 documents offering playground design guidelines for including children with differing abilities indicates that a Universal Design approach may be insufficient for meeting the play needs of all children. The documents were from the grey (non-academic) literature and represented four different regions of the world. Recommendations offered for inclusive design include involving children in the design process and providing access to natural elements and natural features.
Moore, Boyle & Lynch, 2023. Designing public playgrounds for inclusion: A scoping review of grey literature guidelines for Universal Design.
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More research is needed on how playgrounds can provide more challenge and nature access for children with disabilities

This review of the international academic literature found that studies exploring the outdoor play of children with disabilities focused only on the built environment (e.g., play equipment or surfacing), while studies exploring the outdoor play of children without disabilities focused more on the natural environment. The review also noted that children with disabilities expressed concerns and sadness when there were no suitable challenges for them compared with what was available to other children.
Morgenthaler et al., 2023. Environmental qualities that enhance outdoor play in community playgrounds from the perspective of children with and without disabilities: A scoping review.
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Children with physical disabilities face barriers to outdoor recreational activities

Four parents in the U.S. participated in an exploration of the family experience with outdoor recreation during the COVID-19 pandemic. All the participating parents had one or more children (ages 6 – 10) who used a wheelchair or crutches for mobility. Three of the parents indicated that their child did not enjoy outdoor recreation and was not motivated to participate in outdoor activities. All the parents identified the lack of access to outdoor areas as a barrier to participation.
Vogt, Zajchowski, & Hill, 2022. A ramp that leads to nothing: Outdoor recreation experiences of children with physical disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Research on the effectiveness of initiatives promoting successful inclusion of children with differing abilities in outdoor and nature-based activities is limited. The following studies, however, suggest that conducting inclusion classes outdoors, providing natural areas on playgrounds, and designing therapeutic gardens with inclusion in mind may foster inclusion and help children with and without disabilities benefit from being in an outdoor natural environment.

Students with and without special needs and their teachers share positive perceptions of learning in an outdoor classroom

Two kindergarten teachers and 37 kindergarten students (some with disabilities) in the US shared their views of the benefits of outdoor classrooms. Most responses indicated that the outdoor classroom promoted children’s cognitive, social, and physical development. Specific benefits included increased well-being, pleasure, and interest in the learning activities. Additionally, children with special needs seemed less distracted and more on-task in the outdoor versus indoor classroom.
Guardino et al. 2019. Teacher and student perceptions of an outdoor classroom.
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Children suggest adding natural areas to playgrounds would make them more accessible and attractive to children with differing abilities

A group of 7- to 8-year-old students in Boulder, Colorado, when invited to share ideas about how to make city playgrounds accessible and attractive to children with special needs, suggested adding such natural features as trees, open green spaces, and rocks. Their responses indicated an understanding of ways in which natural areas can engage all children in nature play and give them an opportunity to experience nature’s relaxing and calming properties.
Hill & Chawla, 2019. “Fun, novel, safe, and inclusive”: Children’s design recommendations for playgrounds for all abilities.
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Green spaces on playgrounds can support the inclusion of children with disabilities

This review of the literature focused on users’ perspectives of public playgrounds, with special attention to conditions that include and/or exclude children with disabilities in the use of the playspace. Results of studies from multiple countries showed that children with disabilities often face considerable barriers to accessing or using the playspace. Facilitators to inclusion identified through this review include access to “truly natural places.”
Moore, Lynch, & Boyle, 2020. Can universal design support outdoor play, social participation, and inclusion in public playgrounds? A scoping review.
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Sensory gardens can be therapeutic environments for children with autism as well as welcoming spaces for all ages and abilities

This field report describes how challenges for children with autism spectrum disorder were addressed through the design and installation of a sensory garden in Florida. The garden was also designed to be a welcoming place to others in the larger community. Today, the garden “provides opportunity and choice for everyone to engage with nature on their own terms, in their own way, and at their own pace.”
Wagenfeld, Sotelo & Kamp, 2019. Designing an impactful sensory garden for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder. 
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