Are There Swing Sets Designed for Children With Disabilities? Inclusive Outdoor Play Solutions

Swinging is a huge part of anyone’s childhood. Unfortunately, many disabled kids don’t get to experience this joy due to their limitations. This begs the question: are there swing sets designed for children with disabilities?

Read on to find out more about inclusive swing sets and how they cater to disabled children’s needs. We’ve also included a couple of options to consider when buying an inclusive swing set.

How Are Swing Sets Designed For Children With Disabilities

Manufacturers take several factors into account when designing swing sets for children with special needs.

Here are the three main ones:

Safety Features

First off, inclusive swing sets need to have the correct safety features. The swing seat should have straps to secure the child in place. These straps can be fastened across the waist on some swing sets or over the shoulders on others.

The number of straps a swing seat should have depends on the child’s required level of support.

For children in wheelchairs, a platform swing should have locking features to secure the wheelchair in place. Additionally, the platform surface should be non-slip.

Support

Disability is a spectrum, and this means kids with different disabilities need varying levels of support.

Therefore, inclusive swing set manufacturers offer swing seats with different degrees of back support. Some seats include full back support for children with limited mobility and body control. 

On the other hand, other swing seats only have lower back support to allow the child to strengthen their core muscles.

Accessibility

Another consideration is accessibility.

A child’s disability may render them unable to push themselves on a swing. The main example here is kids in wheelchairs. In such cases, wheelchair platform swings are excellent options.

For those who can’t push themselves on a swing but aren’t in a wheelchair, sets with connected swings are the way to go. Such swing sets allow an able-bodied companion to propel the disabled child with them as they swing on a neighboring seat.

Inclusive Swing Sets to Consider

Here are a couple of inclusive swing set solutions to consider:

When you buy this swing set, the days of having to stand behind a disabled child and push their swing are over.

Now you can swing yourself and your child at the same time with the Swung No Push Swing. It makes swinging a much more effective bonding activity because it allows you to participate fully with the child and maintain eye contact with them.

If you’re looking for a swing set with excellent support, the Elite Single Post Adaptive Swing is the way to go.

This swing set has seats with full back support and is equipped with shoulder and waist straps to keep children safe and secure.

Since the swing post is eight feet high, the child will get plenty of sensory experience as they swing to the heavens.