It is probably a happy accident, says Jana Honing, that the playground space at Bowen Children’s Centre (BCC) allowed her son Matthew to spend his pre-school days playing happily and independently with his peers. The playground has an as asphalt loop around it where the kids can ride tricycles, and where Matthew could move around easily in his wheelchair. Now in kindergarten at Bowen Island Community School (BICS), Matthew is facing the challenges of a very different play space, and school administrators are working hard to make that space more accessible for him and anyone else who might have a hard time getting around and want to enjoy the space.
“The teachers and staff have been absolutely amazing in terms of doing everything they can to make it work for Matthew and the whole class, and the inside of the school is really quite accessible,” says Honing. “What I’ve realized is that accessibility is the key to inclusion - you can’t play tag with your friends if you can’t get to the place where the other kids are playing. The outdoor space at BICS is the big challenge in terms of accessibility.”
Before Matthew’s arrival at BICS, a ramp was built connecting his kindergarten classroom to the playground and forest at the back of the school. The new playground, installed last spring, also included a swing designed to accommodate kids with physical disabilities. In the past few weeks, the school installed a mat to allow wheelchair access to the green dome-like climbing apparatus and the slides.
The school bus is also going to be made wheel chair accessible, allowing Matthew to get to school in the same way so many of his peers do.
Last week, thanks to an organization called Let’s Play (an initiative of the BC Wheelchair Basketball Society) and Multi-Paralympic Gold Medalist Marni Abbott-Peter visited BICS to share her inspirational story and support making connections between Matthew and his peers. The organization brought a fleet of sports wheelchairs into the BICS gym and every one of the school’s students got a chance to wheel around, and play a variety of games. The organization even left one of the wheelchairs behind, allowing students to continue to practice their new skill, develop their understanding of how Matthew makes his way through the world, and also, have fun on wheels.
“I am really proud of our staff for their support of Matthew and peers,” says BICS principal Scott Slater. “We all have much to learn about how best to support him and I’m grateful that Matthew has such a supportive family that work with us closely to do just that.
