In Cash-Strapped Cities, Parents Create Inclusive Playgrounds

However, the opportunity to participate in play with other children is an important part of childhood that kids with disabilities need. "'Play areas are not just places where kids have fun,' says Eve Hill, a civil rights lawyer with the Justice Department, which enforces the ADA."

"'They are places where kids learn to interact with the world, and with each other,' Hill says. That places playgrounds in the same category as other civil-rights touchstones [such as swimming pools and lunch counters]."

Now, many parent advocates are raising money to create playgrounds that all kids can enjoy, like Brooklyn's Playground in Pocatello, Idaho, described by parent Jonny Fisher: "'We have the therapeutic swings,' Fisher says. 'These have got backs, so kids that don't have that muscle tone can get in there completely, and feel safe and secure and swing.'"

"'We have ramps leading up to all the play structures. You have the solid surfaces throughout the entire playground. With walkers or wheelchairs it's very easy to go around this.'"