This weekend, Gillette Children’s Specialty Health Care wants families to empower their play.

Gillette is holding its Inclusive Day of Play on Saturday to unite kids of all abilities.

For Kelly Becker and her son Dempsey, inclusive playgrounds like the one on Gillette Children’s St. Paul campus can offer an escape.

“We just want him to be happy in life,” said Kelly Becker.

Dempsey lives with several medical conditions — including cerebral palsy — and uses a wheelchair.
For all kids, play helps them learn about the world, make connections and grow friendships, which is important no matter how you communicate or move.

“Being nonverbal, it is just important for him to be around other kids. He loves hearing them talking, them playing,” Kelly added.

Until recently, these inclusive spaces have been hard to find and standard playgrounds can be challenging for kids with limited mobility.

“Just going out and into the wild and you visit parks, a lot of them will not be inclusive whether its woodchips — that stops you right there and then you’re way back,” noted Kelly.

That’s where Gillette’s Day of Play comes in. They’re asking families to come together at inclusive playgrounds where kids of all abilities can play together and raise awareness about the need for these inclusive spaces.

Gillette is part of a push at the State Capitol to secure more money for adaptive playgrounds across Minnesota.

“It’s where kids learn about problem-solving, and conflict resolution and following rules and being part of a community and promotes their physical activity as well,” said Dr. Matthew Severson, a Gillette pediatric rehabilitation medicine physician.

“These kids are seeing nontypical kids like them and I think the compassion that builds is amazing,” said Kelly.

Gillette also has an interactive map of around 30 inclusive playgrounds across Minnesota.