LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. – There’s something new at Orchard Park in Liberty Lake, and some families hope to see more changes like this around the Inland Northwest.
“It just opens up a whole new world for so many,” said Nancy Hill, chair of Liberty Lake’s Parks & Arts Commission.
Hill is talking about the communication board, a colorful display by Orchard Park’s playground that features dozens of images to help people who are less verbal or may have language and speech difficulties. The new board will allow more people to better communicate with their peers and caregivers at the park.
“The board was added to make us more of an inclusive community,” Hill said. “We wanted everyone to be able to enjoy the playground, the park, and be able to communicate with each other.”
Hill said it took about a year to budget and plan for adding the communication board to Orchard Park and that there is a strategic plan to add one every year to a park in the Liberty Lake area. The board in Orchard Park is already receiving positive feedback from people like Brenna Speerbrecher, a clinically certified speech-language pathologist with the Northwest Autism Center.
“I use a lot of this equipment,” Speerbrecher said. “It’s great for a lot of reasons, not just for kids who might use an alternative method of communication, but it’s great for kids who are still developing their language with picture-based text. It can really be utilized by a lot of different individuals.”
Hill added that the communication board will also help children learn vocabulary words, develop reading skills, and allow caregivers to communicate with the children they’re using the park with.
David Himebaugh, Liberty Lake’s Park & Arts Commission co-chair, said the board was designed by a speech therapist from Texas who is also the mother of a boy with autism and made it her mission to promote communication. He pointed out that the keyboard at the bottom of the board can also be useful for a child to communicate during an urgent situation.
“If there is a lost child in the park and perhaps they can’t communicate,” Himebaugh said,” they can use the keyboard (at the bottom of the board) or even if they know their home number.”
Speerbrecher said anytime something like this communication board is added to our community, we’re promoting inclusion and acceptance.
This autism awareness month, she hopes people will show their support for inclusion by taking part in Northwest Autism Center’s 9th Annual Steps for Autism 5k on Saturday, April 27, beginning at noon in Riverfront Park.
