Wooden toy toolbox with a toy hammer, wrench and screws, painted in blue, yellow, red, silhouetted on a white background.

The Toolkit

Everyone deserves a chance to play. Use this toolkit to expand inclusive playgrounds in your community.

Freedom of Choice

An inclusive playground allows all children and adults to make decisions for themselves about what they want to do. This is called freedom of choice. Freedom of choice is a human right. People with disabilities are entitled to the same freedom of choice as people without disabilities. But, throughout history, and still today, people with disabilities have been prevented from making decisions about what they need and want. 

Playgrounds that are accessible do not always allow freedom of choice. But inclusive playgrounds should promote freedom of choice. For example, sometimes a playground has many different slides. But if only one slide is accessible to people with disabilities, they have no choice about which slide to play on. Playgrounds that are inclusive always include freedom of choice so everyone has the choice about where and how to play. This would mean there is more than one choice for which slide to play on.    

Consider the following questions for your playground. Be sure to think about these question alone and in a group! 

  • Imagine two friends coming to the playground with different abilities. Where could they play together and where could they not play together? 

  • Imagine a family coming to the playground and the members have different abilities. Where could they play together and where could they not play together?

Playgrounds should be a place where you have the ability to choose where you want to play and who you want to play with. This means that everyone, regardless of their abilities, has the same opportunities to play and have fun.

A young girl walks on a balance beam
A child wearing a yellow hoodie and headphones talks to his smiling mother.