September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 42
TEMPLE GRANDIN
Dr. Grandin consults with the Play &
Park Structures' design team manager
in the testing laboratory at the manufacturing
facility in Fort Payne, Alabama.
Structures team gets many of
their designers out of the industrial
design department rather than
the engineering department. After
the design process, you must
have some engineering to ensure
the equipment is structurally safe.
I think it's good to have things be
more inclusive; to do so, you must
have different types of thinkers
involved in the creation process.
P&R: You have stated that
spinning was a vital play
component for you as a
child. What other types of
sensory-rich movements
should be incorporated
into play equipment for
neurodivergent individuals?
Dr. Grandin: Balancing activities
should be incorporated into playgrounds
and equipment. There are
therapies where they'll nail a twoby-four
[board] to the floor and get
the kid to walk across it because
balancing activities
are helpful
for development. Also, things like
horseback riding where you can
get both balance and get rhythm.
Those types of movements can be
beneficial to a child.
P&R: When designing
or planning for those
who think differently,
should individual needs
be primarily considered,
or should group play be
prioritized?
Dr. Grandin: Both individual and
group play are essential. Swings,
of course,
are more individual
play. When I was a child, there
were seesaws where two kids had
to cooperate to make that work.
Kids would also play together on
the jungle gym. There was also
a...gigantic slide at our school,
and we had to take turns going on
that; we had to line up and take
turns.
42 Parks & Recreation | SEP T EMBER 2 0 22 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
P&R: For those municipal
parks, schools and
community centers
that may not have new
equipment in their budget,
what can they do to
support a neurodiverse
population?
Dr. Grandin: Activities don't need
to be expensive. I wrote a book,
called Calling All Minds: How to
Think and Create Like an Inventor,
which is all my parachute
and kite experiments that I spent
hours working on. I had to tinker
and experiment to get my kite to
work or get my parachute to open.
These were things that didn't cost
a lot of money.
I've met kids that never made
a paper airplane or snowflake. I
gave a book signing for Calling
All Minds four years ago in a nice
suburb of Denver. About 30 percent
of the kids that came to the
signing had never made a paper
airplane. Well, we got a lot of
printer paper that night, and they
got to make them. They found it
fun throwing them off the balcony
into the theater. And if it
didn't work, they got another
piece of paper to try again. Kids
today are removed from the world
of hands-on making and are too
afraid of making mistakes.
P&R: We've talked a lot
about children and their
outdoor experiences.
How can our parks and
recreation centers support
the outdoor experience
of adults with different
minds?
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2022 - Parks & Recreation
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Intro
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover1
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover2
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 1
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 2
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 3
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 4
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 5
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 6
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 7
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 8
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 9
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 10
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 10a
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 10b
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 11
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 12
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 13
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 14
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 15
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 16
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 17
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 18
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 19
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 20
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 21
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 22
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 23
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 24
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 25
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 26
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 27
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 28
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 29
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 30
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 31
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 32
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 33
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 34
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 35
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 36
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 37
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 38
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 39
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 40
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 41
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 42
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 43
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 44
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 45
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 46
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 47
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 48
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 49
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 50
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 51
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 52
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 53
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 54
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 55
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 56
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 57
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 58
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 59
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 60
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 61
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 62
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 63
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 64
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover3
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2025
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2025
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2024
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https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
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