By Bethany Chambers

Staff writer

ORMOND BEACH - Although members of the Kiwanis Club of Ormond Beach "figured it would be years" before they could fund and build their playground-of-dreams, it ended up taking only a few months.

Last week, that playground, which has features specially suited to attract and help autistic children, opened at Central Park thanks to a partnership between the city, the local Kiwanis members and the Florida Kiwanis Foundation.

"This is an idea whose time has come," said Dr. Robert Stroud, the former president of the Ormond Beach club who started the project. "The Kiwanis support a lot of projects with children, but after we had a speaker talk about autism, it struck me that this is a more common condition than you might think."

The playground was designed to accommodate the growing population of autistic children. The city already has a playground for special needs children - namely the physically disabled - on Nova Road.

Nearly 1 in 150 children in the United States have an autism spectrum disorder, a variety of developmental disabilities that may impair them socially, physically and emotionally, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The new playground, made of coated metal for safety and durability, replaces older wooden equipment that was removed from the park on Hammock Lane this summer as part of an annual city renewal and replacement program.

John Miskell, who finished the playground as his last project before retiring as the city's facilities maintenance manager, said the project was a team effort.

"This is an example of the city and a community group working really well together," he said.

The city contributed $15,000, and the local Kiwanis members donated $5,000 in order to receive a $5,000 matching grant from the state club to pay for the autism-friendly features.

From afar, the playground looks like any other. It has dual slides, one large and one small, monkey bars and staggered landings of all heights. The bright primary colors and soft mulch base are all standard fare.

"You wouldn't know this is autism spectrum-friendly," said Alan Burton, vice president of the Kiwanis. "This playground is inclusive."

It's the extra features that make the playground special, said Dr. Stroud, who helped choose the individual games that surround the playground.

In one, a child must direct a marble through a series of mazes. In another, the game is tic-tac-toe. There are gearshifts to crank and bells to ring and switches to turn.

The individual stations provide children with autism a respite from social interaction.

"Children with autism have difficulty understanding subtle cues and making friendships, so the playground can be very stressful," said Dorothy Lefford, clinical director of therapy services at the Easter Seals of Volusia and Flagler Counties Autism Center of Excellence, where children are taught skills through play. She was the speaker who got the Kiwanis interested in helping those with autism.

At this playground, each activity might interest a child with autism or any kid, for that matter.

"Anything a typical child would like to do at a playground, a child with autism would like to do as well," Ms. Lefford said. "They just might need to develop more (coordination and balance)."

At the playground last week, Ormond Beach resident Sharon Covert brought her 20-month-old granddaughter Grace Akarjalain to play for the first time.

She couldn't tell the playground was built for autistic children, she said as she watched Grace play with the gears game.

"It's wonderful," she said. "(Autistic children) need a place that they can go."

But it's not complete.

The Kiwanis of Ormond Beach continue to raise money to add a special entrance to the playground, to plant barrier landscaping to keep kids from running into the road and to add more play features, Dr. Stroud said.

Ms. Lefford said she hopes the playground leads to community days dedicated to educating the public about autism and helping the children affected learn social skills.

For Ms. Covert and her granddaughter, only one thing would make it better, she said.

"It's lovely," she said. "The only thing missing is a swing."