A Mindful Approach to Inclusive Play

Prepare Then Play

My family and our friends consider the needs and desires of each person. Not everyone finds the same things fun and that’s ok! Lessening anxiety triggers is important to make sure everyone has fun. Physical support may be needed for some activities.

Some of our favorite activities include water: 

• splash pad
• sprinkler hung from a tree
• sprinkler under the trampoline. 

AAC devices and water don’t usually mix. So we do the following:

1. Make sure to have a wheelchair that can get wet.
2. Make a plan and answer questions using the AAC before getting in the water.
3. Have check-ins where we use alternative yes/no to make sure our friend is ok and still having fun.
4. If we’re having trouble communicating, we get away from the water and use the AAC device again.

A huge part of play and having fun is the social part and the communication between friends. We love jumping on the trampoline. But it’s not safe to use all communication devices while jumping. 

1. We talk through what we want to play before we get on the trampoline. 
2. If we can’t understand each other, we stop jumping and get the communication device. 
3. Once we figure out what our friend needs we can move forward with: 
   • water
   • food
   • a break
   • a different game
   • a different activity
   • be done for now
   • continue the activity

More companies are trying to make their games and activities work for everyone. My kids love playing Minecraft. We’re thankful for EyeMine. It helps people who use eye-gaze devices play the game more easily. It’s still the same Minecraft. It just has buttons and controls that work better with eye tracking. If you have a friend who wants to play Minecraft make sure to talk through:

• your goals
• build battle guidelines 
• strategies
• time limits

before you start playing. The last time we played it was hard to use the communication software while also using EyeMine. Talking through things first helps the playtime go smoothly.

One of our favorite games happens in elevators. It’s a race! 

1. Our friend uses her AAC to be the conductor and tell us which button to push. 
2. The toddlers then push the buttons. 
3. We usually go up one floor at a time. 
4. We run to the elevator on the other side; one older child pushes the wheelchair so they can both race too. 
5. Our friend uses her AAC to tell us what we need to yell on the way down! 

Everyone laughs, everyone smiles, and everyone wants to do it again. This matters because if someone isn’t having fun, we can change the plan. We want everyone to enjoy their time together.

We need to hear everyone’s thoughts and reactions. This is important. It’s also sometimes as simple as watching and listening:

• Are they smiling?
• Are they asking to do it again?
• Are they eager when we are getting ready?

If any safety concerns arise, we need to think through better ways to interact next time. If someone isn’t having fun, we want to know how to make things fun. We want to have fun and also be safe and considerate of each other.