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Playground exercises kids' independence
By ROBERT KING
© St. Petersburg Times, BROOKSVILLE -- Children, almost by definition, are creatures of play. But when young children are blind or visually impaired, it becomes quickly apparent that play isn't so much an inbred instinct as it is something they learn. That's why people at Lighthouse for the Visually Impaired and Blind were so overjoyed Saturday when the Kiwanis Club of Spring Hill presented them with a $10,000 playground specifically designed for visually impaired children. "Babies are born knowing only how to suckle," said Roxann Mayros, executive director of Lighthouse. "Everything else is emulating." For children who are blind or visually impaired, emulating is difficult. They can't learn play skills from watching others. They have to be taught basic skills such as climbing steps and fundamental concepts such as "in" and "out" or "up" and "down." The playground unveiled Saturday will be another tool to help visually impaired children become more independent. The slides that came with the new playground are sufficiently wide for adults to slide behind children who need some assistance making the trip down. There are steps for the kids to practice their climbing, tubes to work on their creeping and sand table areas for them to sharpen their fine-motor skills. "If your sight is weak, then you have to use your other senses to learn," said Terri Hill, a Brooksville mother whose 5-year-old daughter, Hannah, is visually impaired. "Children learn through play." Lighthouse, which is at 6492 California St., southwest of Brooksville, serves both adults and children with visual handicaps -- all at no charge. Currently, it serves about 18 children younger than 6, providing them and their families with training aimed at minimizing developmental delays that can come with poor sight. About one-third of Lighthouse's funding comes from the state; the rest is provided by private donations and organizations such as the United Way of Hernando County. "This is not something we could have ever afforded to do," Mayros said of the playground. Saturday's celebration was three years in the making. It began when Mayros visited the Kiwanis Club and described the challenges that blind and visually impaired children face. "There was not a dry eye at the luncheon," said Rich Boothby, a vice president with the Kiwanis and retired Long Island police officer. During that luncheon, Spring Hill Kiwanis members picked up from Mayros the idea that a playground would be useful. From there, Kiwanis members made the playground idea their personal mission. They had garage sales and jazz concerts, sold sausage sandwiches at public events and hosted pancake breakfasts with Santa at Christmas. At Saturday's dedication of the playground, Mayros presented Kiwanis members with a plaque etched with a quote from Helen Keller. Its message seems to describe what the Lighthouse is all about. "We are never really happy until we brighten the lives of others."
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