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Commission explores adding communication boards at new inclusive playgrounds and splash pad
Summary
Commissioners discussed installing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) boards at new inclusive playgrounds and the upcoming splash pad, and asked staff to pursue grants and return with a proposal.
At the March 11 meeting commissioners discussed adding visual communication boards — tools that use icons and words to help nonverbal or neurodivergent children communicate at playgrounds and other park amenities.
Commissioner Amanda Frame, who raised the topic, showed examples and said the boards are already in use in some local schools and could be mounted at playgrounds or the splash pad. "For autistic kids or nonverbal kids...they can point to the picture that corresponds with 'go' or 'stop' or 'play'," she said, explaining the boards' function.
Staff and commissioners discussed mounting options (freestanding with steel posts or fence-mounted metal panels) and durability concerns such as vandalism; staff noted the city already uses graffiti-resistant laminates on other park signage. Community liaison Nicole Weedy said potential funding sources include local grants; staff agreed to draft a grant concept and circulate it by blind-copy so commissioners can review without triggering an inadvertent quorum.
Dylan Gamble, capital program manager, said the boards are small, relatively inexpensive items (poster-size panels) and recommended prioritizing installation at the newly built inclusive playgrounds and the splash pad, where younger children will gather.
No formal vote was taken; staff will prepare a grant concept, identify preferred locations (inclusive playgrounds and splash pad were discussed), and return to the commission with a recommended procurement and installation plan.
