A park with heart: Chen explaining how the equipment at the playground has been designed to help children improve their gross and fine motor skills at Ausome Park in Kuching. — ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE / The Star
KUCHING: A colourful multifunctional slide stands in the centre of a new playground here, complemented by spinning wheels, fidget toys and musical instruments.
But Ausome Park is no ordinary playground, it is specially designed as a safe space for children with autism to play and socialise.
Located in the grounds of Kuching South City Council’s headquarters, the playground was officially opened last month and is believed to be the first outdoor facility of its kind in Sabah and Sarawak.
“For us, it is very meaningful to have a park which is inclusive, where our kids can come and play,” Kuching Autistic Association president Dr Catherine Chen said.
Based on Malaysia’s autism prevalence of one in 100 children, she said Kuching was estimated to have 1,260 children with autism from a population of about 126,000 children below 15.
Kuching Autistic Association president Dr Catherine Chen trying out the xylophone at Ausome Park.– ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE / The Star
“So, it is definitely timely for kids to have an autism-friendly playground and we hope to have more than one in future,” she said.
Chen said Ausome Park is enclosed by a perimeter fence, making it safe for children to play comfortably.
She said the playground’s equipment was designed to help children improve their gross and fine motor skills, including climbing, jumping, crawling and hand-eye coordination.
“Autistic children have difficulties with balance, so there are things that help them to learn to balance, to spin, turn and climb.
“We have slides of different heights and types to give them options of how their body feels in different situations.
“The walkway to the slides has rings, wheels to turn and knobs that they can play with. The spinning wheels are really popular, they love to play with that,” she added.
The playground is also a place for autistic children to learn to interact with others as they often have difficulty socialising.
“There are a few things they can do together or in parallel play, like the xylophone and spinning wheels,” Chen said.
“But sometimes they can be overwhelmed when there are too many children, so we’ve incorporated a quiet corner where they can sit and calm down.”
Occupational therapist Khor Wai On, who provided input for the design of Ausome Park, said it was based on the idea of creating a sensory-rich space.
Besides motion elements and visual inputs, he said the playground also included auditory and tactile inputs.
“As most children with autism process sensory inputs differently, the equipment allows them to experience different sensory inputs in a playful environment.”
Khor noted that autistic individuals often found it challenging to sustain an interaction or stay engaged with another person.
“Most of them find comfort in nursery rhymes and songs as a means to engage with their surroundings.
“Some use songs as a form of communication while others use songs to help regulate their emotions when they are scared, frustrated or anxious.
“Hence, the musical instruments and alphabet panels serve not just as toys but a platform for parents to engage with their children through something they feel safe with,” he said.
Kuching South mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng, who mooted the idea for the playground, said it reflected the city council’s commitment to inclusivity.
“Usually, we have an allocation for parks. So two years back when we were doing our planning, we decided to develop a playground for children with autism,” he said.
“We had some volunteers who contributed suggestions on what these children would need and then we proceeded to approve the allocation for the playground.”
The RM485,000 project was handed over to the contractor last August and completed earlier this year.
“The playground is a place for children with autism to play and relax outdoors. It’s educational and fun at the same time,” Wee said, adding that it also served to raise awareness on autism, besides cultivating care and concern for the less fortunate in society.
“I hope the public will give their support to autistic children and their parents. Even a caring word can be enough.”
