Shrieks of laughter from children with disabilities are becoming more common in Hungarian playgrounds, thanks to some determined parents turned innovative designers.
“Disabled kids have the right to play too,” says Eszter Harsanyi, 44, one of the co-founders of MagikMe, a start-up designing playground equipment.
Her son Aron, seven, was born with epilepsy and for years had to sit and watch his brother bounding through playground climbing frames, or joshing in sandpits.
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Now Aron too can join in at some 30 playgrounds in Budapest — and another 30 nationwide — that have installed MagikMe equipment.
“It helps Aron a lot to mingle with able-bodied peers,” said Ms. Harsanyi, as she helped him onto a modified see-saw called the “Butterfly”.
With two extra legs for laying on, and hand-grips and “wings” along the sides to prevent falls, children can climb out of wheelchairs or be laid down to enjoy the ride without needing a helper to hold them.
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Ms. Harsanyi and four other parents with disabled children hatched the idea in 2013. After bringing a designer friend on board and setting up a firm in 2014, a key part of the parents’ mission was making the equipment cool for able-bodied kids too.
Inclusive space
Another piece, an elevated sandbox called “Dune” allows children to dig together standing up or laying down.
Such “inclusive” playgrounds can make society more tolerant in the long-run, Ms. Harsanyi believes.
“Playing together shows healthy children what it means to be different, and how to talk, laugh, listen to, and touch disabled kids,” she said.
As well as designing new sensory and tactile equipment, the firm plans to branch out to neighbouring Austria and Slovakia, and further afield, said Ms. Harsanyi. “Lack of playground access for disabled kids is not a Hungarian problem, but a global one,” she added.