NJ Swingsets
$ 2,999.00
Not every kid on a playground can ask for a turn on the swing out loud. The Sports Play Communication Panel puts more than 100 pictures, words, numbers and symbols on one board, so a child can point to what they mean. Swing. Your turn. Thirsty. Stop.
I went over the board square by square. The top row is the playground itself: swing, slide, see saw, bench. Below that there's a full row of feelings, 13 of them, from happy and sad to hurt, scared, hungry and thirsty. That row matters more than it looks. A kid who can point to "hurt" can tell you what's wrong instead of just crying.
The rest is the stuff kids negotiate out there all day. Please, thank you, hello, bye and your turn. Help, wait, line up, stop and go. Yes and no. Question words are on there too (what, where, who, why, when), and the numbers one through five run along the bottom.
BEST FOR: Schools, parks, daycares and inclusive playgrounds where some kids are non-speaking, some are still learning to talk, and some speak a different language at home than the kid next to them on the slide.
Speech therapists call this kind of tool AAC, short for augmentative and alternative communication. Plenty of kids already use a version of it at school, on a tablet or in a binder of picture cards. The problem is the tablet doesn't come out to recess. A Sports Play Communication Panel stays on the playground, and nobody has to charge it. It mounts in the ground, and the posts come with it.
It helps more kids than you'd guess. A 3-year-old who doesn't have the words yet can use it. So can a child whose family speaks Spanish or Korean at home. Pictures don't need translating.
Have questions about this one? Call us at 201-670-4000.
Side note: a few of the labels on the Sports Play Communication Panel use British playground words. There's a "roundabout" (we'd call it a merry-go-round) and a "climbing frame." The pictures do the work, so I don't see it as a problem, but I'd rather you hear it from me than spot it after it's up.
It sits with our other park and playground signs. Sports Play also makes the Freestanding Sensory Ball Maze Panel, which is a good one to look at if you're shopping for kids of different abilities.
Shipping and professional installation are quoted separately. Contact NJ Swingsets & Playgrounds for a complete quote including delivery and installation. We are located in Midland Park, NJ and provide installation services in New Jersey, parts of New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Nationwide shipping available.