By Julie Wurth
The News-Gazette
Friday, June 30, 2006
CHAMPAIGN - Pure, unbridled joy.
The simple act of swinging through the air, something most children take for granted, delighted residents of the Swann Special Care Center on Thursday as they tested a new swing made especially for the disabled.
The Liberty Swing, designed in Australia, can accommodate children in wheelchairs or those unable to use a conventional swing. Through Variety Ð The Children's Charity of Chicago, which covered the $17,200 cost, the Swann Center is the first site in the U.S. to get one.
"It's just so amazing," said Kym Halberstadt, Swann's assistant administrator. "Most of our residents have probably never been on a swing, at least since they were babies. Our kids love it."
The swing was to be dedicated today at the Swann Center, which cares for children and adults with severe and profound mental and physical disabilities.
Australian inventor Wayne Devine of Sydney, who used to manufacture playgrounds for a living, said he designed the swing after taking his four children to a playground he had built. He watched as a mother brought her three children to the park, one of them in a wheelchair. The girl was unable to use any of the play equipment or even get into the play area because of the wood chips.
"This child just sat in her wheelchair asking her mother what she could use or play on. It was very depressing," Devine said in an e-mail interview.
So Devine set about designing the Liberty Swing. When the first one opened in Australia back in July 2001, people traveled two to three hours to use it, he said. There are now 130 swings throughout Australia and New Zealand and one in the United Kingdom.
Devine said he would love to see one in every community. The swing is "changing lives," said Devine, who installed the swing at the Swann Center in May after attending a conference in Las Vegas.
The swing resembles an oversized backyard swing set, with an A-frame for support, gliding back and forth on two poles. It's made of heavy-duty plastic secured with steel bands and can hold up to 550 pounds, accommodating all sizes of wheelchairs. A ramp that recesses when the swing is in use allows wheelchairs to roll up to it. Riders are strapped in with a harness and their chairs secured with locks. The swing has a fold-away seat for those who don't need wheelchairs.
As he waited for his turn Thursday, 25-year-old Randy Cockrell could barely contain his excitement. "Yay!" he shouted, laughing, as he rolled up to the swing. After being buckled in, he grabbed one of the bars, threw his head back and shouted "Whee!"
Not all the residents can be so expressive. But even Olivia Cunitz, a quiet 11-year-old, allowed a smile as the swing started to carry her back and forth. Swann's youngest resident, 2-year-old Ling Su, looked around and lifted her hand as it started to move.
"She's really liking it. Her leaning forward like that is really unusual," said a delighted Kathleen Baker, Swann's new executive director. "We're just so thrilled to have one."
Added maintenance director Floyd Meek: "Once they've been in it, it's hard to get them out."
Parents of Swann's residents will be given keys that allow them to use any Liberty swing around the world.
Variety - The Children's Charity in Chicago acquired the Liberty Swing three years ago when it hosted the international conference for its organization, said spokesman Jody Grimaldi. The plan was to donate it to the Chicago Park District, but that got sidelined by red tape.
Variety eventually offered the swing to the University of Illinois, known for being accessible to students with physical disabilities. Maureen Gilbert, coordinator of the UI Office of Campus Life, said the swing wasn't really appropriate for them. She suggested it to the Champaign and Urbana park districts, but both declined to take it, she said.
So Gilbert, who had worked with the Swann Center, contacted officials there, who were delighted to accept.
"What better place to put it?" Gilbert said.
Variety hopes to donate more swings across the U.S. The group's mission is to promote children's health around the world, and that would give "children everywhere the opportunity to truly reach for the sky," said Nick Liberati, president of Variety in Illinois.
Link to original link in The News-Gazette.
Telephone: (626) 585-8006 or Email: awhitford@libertyswingusa.com
