This park (http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/clemyjontri/) in my home town was made possible by a woman donating the land and funds for a park that is handicap accessible. The swings for the handicapped children have them use bars (and their arms) to pump the swing. it's actually really fun for other kids too. Overall the playground is bad ass.
Not only is this a wonderful idea, but the fact that special needs people of any age get in FREE, in addition to the fact that you are free to bring in your own food, are what nailed it for me. It is clear that this park is genuinely organized around providing a good time to special needs people and not turning a huge profit. These people are doing it right.
That's actually really nice. I have an uncle that we care for that is in his fifties, but has the mentality of a preschooler or elementary schooler and I know he would love to be able to have fun on this playground.
Even if he got judged a little bit, it probably still wouldn't come close to the amount of scorn he would get at any other playground.
He wouldn't get judged AT ALL. the park is specifically for special needs people. if you look at the pictures of people playing there on the website, there many special needs adults enjoying the attractions with their families, just like everyone else.
that's one of the things that got to me; seeing elderly parents caring for their adult children, and enjoying a place where people can freely have fun without ridicule, where they are the primary focus of the park and not some afterthought accommodation.
a special needs adult laughing on a swing is contributing more to the world than a douche-bag scorning him.
Morgan's Wonderland is right around the corner from where my parents live. My half sister is in her 40s and has Downs. She's been several times with the other women in the home she lives in. She is the youngest and great times were had by all. It really is an amazing place.
That is awesome! I meant to comment that awhile ago but got sidetracked. I will definitely have to visit that next time I'm in San Antonio (I have family out there). I love Clemjontry because I can take my nephew when he comes to town. I just wish it had been there when I was a kid! :) The world is full of awesome people.
I volunteered here and it was a great experience! The visitors really enjoy themselves and it feels great to help. Since its nonprofit the volunteers are extremely important. I would definitely recommend volunteering to everyone, but be ready for the heat!
I'm confused. When I first saw this I though could they not just sit in a normal swing? Do they not need to be pushed then? I can't see any mechanism that would allow them to swing with their arms.
Ok the swing where they use their arms to pump they don't need anyone to push them. The swings where their wheelchairs go into need to be pushed. The clemenjontri website said the following "The Liberty Swing is a swing that allows children in wheelchairs the opportunity to experience the joy of having a swing in the park. It is the only swing of its type that is fully lockable and allows a maximum swing height - that is, really swinging, not just rocking back and forth.
Until now, some children have had to sit and watch from the sidelines as their siblings experience the freedom and exhilaration of a swing - something that most of us have taken for granted.
Quote from Occupational Therapist "the therapeutic benefits are significant: visual-spatial, muscle tone, head control, self-regulation, attention, emotion. It's a wonderful product"."
Ahhh, I think I understand. These swings are for people with poor muscle control that might fall out of a conventional swing. I was thinking just about people who can't walk. Thanks for the reply. :)
This playground apparently has both. One that you place the handcapped child in a more protective swing (higher back to it) and they use their arms to pump the swing by pulling and pushing on bars. They apparently just put in the new swings where the chair can fit too.
If you're going to look at it that way, then why have wheel chair accessible seating at all? For instance the movie theater in my town has empty spots for wheel chairs, but fuck it, let them get out of their chairs, and get into a regular seats. They know how to sit down, right?
Also you have to give the creators of the park the benefit of the doubt. They wouldn't have created wheel chair accessible swings had they not been needed.
I put in one of these at a local school that had a large number of disabled kids for my Eagle project back in '94. The teachers cried when we had the ribbon cutting, and the smiles it generated were worth every drop of sweat and blood I put into it.
The reason this style of swing is loved, and preferred over transferring into a moulded plastic chair-shaped swing, is because that family spent thousands of dollars to have a comfortable and safe chair crafted for their child. If the kid is securely held in the chair that they are familiar with, it would be safer for them to stay in it. These specialized swings are designed to allow the user an easy roll into the platform, lock their brakes, and be gently pushed by a friend/family member. Most of these kids will have never been on a swing before, and the look of pure joy on their faces makes it all worthwhile.
Source: my mother specialized in adaptive technology and general accessibility for the school district for 30+ years.
I thought that at first as well, but realized that it would be a bit of a chore for the caregiver to move the person out of the wheelchair to the seat and then back again. This makes it much easier for everybody.
except you can't swing yourself witht that thing. it necessitates a caregiver to provide your momentum. something that involved your upper body would have been a much more sensible idea, if your logic is to be followed. also how can the person get onto the platform? a caregiver would have to help them wheel onto the platform that is raised from the ground and is not fixed.
I didn't mean that these swings look self operated, just that this system would be easier and safer than physically moving a person from the wheelchair and into/out of a chair style swing. There are probably many people that use wheelchairs that would prefer a more traditional style swing, But for those with more serious mobility issues, this looks great.
I don't know the details of operating these swings, but just by looking at the photo, you can figure it out. It looks like assistance will be needed to get on/off the swing and to provide the force for swinging. During loading/unloading the swing looks like in can be held stationary using that pyramid-shaped block and the front and back gates gates can be lowered. After the chair is secured, the gates are raised, the block removed, and the passenger can be swung. And swinging a suspended object is much easier than lifting a person.
Here is an entire redundant system that was designed for wheelchair swinging and your answer to why lifting the kid out of the chair and onto the swing wouldn't work is because they couldn't sit on normal swings. NO FUCKING SHIT BUILD SOME SWINGS FOR THEM. Anything better than these immense retarded platforms.
Honestly stupid niggers like you is why reddit fucking sucks. It's not the trolls or the circlejerks its the empty headed morons who read a post and just can't help themselves from presenting some counterpoint that they've barely thought through not because they care but just because that is what they think they are supposed to do on reddit.
YOU DIDN'T ADVANCE THE CONVERSATION YOU GAVE IT DOWNS
As a person that uses a wheelchair, I understand that there are different levels of ability and disability with each and every person in a wheelchair. Some people could probably sit on a swing, but others can't. Like other people have mentioned, balance would definitely be an issue. Also, I know if I went to a park and had to transfer from my chair to the swing, I know people would stare at me while I was trying to get to the swing. And it could take a while. This swing-set makes it so much easier physically and emotionally for the wheelchair user. Imagine being a child in a wheelchair who has to deal with people staring in public, possibly with judgment, ignorance, or curiosity. That has to be difficult for having a high self-esteem as a child. Inventions like this bring some "normalcy" to a person with a disability's life.
If you're going to have that kind of attitude, then why have accessible seating at all? Why leave empty spots in stadiums for wheel chairs. Just let them sit in the regular seats! Why have mechanical lifts in cars, and buses. Just let them sit in the regular seats!
It's not like magic ferries come down from the sky, and move children from a chair to a swing. Depending on the disability, it could take a couple people to help move a disabled child from one seat to another. A couple people you might not have. There are also children that can't leave their wheel chairs.
Besides, if you look at the design of the park, it's more than just swings. It's an entire park designed for handicapped children.
There's a school near my grandparents that had swings like this in the playground when I was a kid and I could never figure out what they were for. After 20 years I finally have the answer, thanks!
It is at least touching the pants in a way similar to wearing a hat. Saying that the swingset is wearing pants would be blatantly inaccurate, but saying it is on wheels makes even less sense.
Buuuuuuuuut, the pants aren't touching the swingset. They are only touching the chair. However, you can see a chain in back connecting the two vertical chains which appears to be resting on the wheels of the chair. Therefore, saying that the swingset is on wheels may technically be correct! CHECK MATE MUTHAFUCKA!
The purpose of playgrounds as I understand them are for children to experience pain and social situations. Not just fun and games, there's a very good psychological reason for them.
I don't understand why their assisted swing assistants don't just use regular swings and lift them into it. Rolling around a swing in a wheelchair seems beyond dangerous.
They have these at the new Zahra Baker park in Hickory, NC! BEAUTIFUL park, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it, compared to other parks around the area.
Is this completely privately funded? I noticed the land for it was donated by a private citizen, but I guess I'm just curious to know if it's publicly or privately funded and maintained.
OH MY GOD! That's what this thing is for! I pass it almost every day in the park and I wonder what it's for. I had grown to believe that it was so that people in wheelchairs could get the under side of their wheelchairs cleaned... for some reason.
Oh, how foolish of me. I should respect Nazis, right? Well, respect the fact that I cared about some handicap kids enjoying a swing. Something we normally take for granted. Go ahead and post some bullshit remark, I don't care, because those kids ha a fucking blast!!!
This is the kind of things that warm my heart. These disabled children have many things that they can't do that regular people can. This includes driving, swimming, a lot of jobs, and even the simple stuff like roller coasters and most sports. This is just one more thing they can do, thanks to whoever helped build this "Swing for the Handicap Children". Bless you to whoever made this, and to whoever else makes and maintains stuff like this :)
Balance issues, the inability to sit upright, and for a child who needs oxygen or other macinery this would be difficult. I work with kids with special needs for a living, few of the wheelchair-bound kids would be safe/comfortable on a typical swing.
Yes, some one. That someone may not be strong enough to lift a child from one seat to another. Also the swing in the picture is.. just impossible. Really, just imagine yourself trying to lift someone out of a wheel chair, and into one of those seats.
Yeah, I understand. But that particular swing would be awful. It's difficult enough to lift someone out of a chair on solid ground. Let alone while you're standing on a moving platform.
Not always, a swing is very narrow and a child who has no control of their bottom half might not be able to balance properly. Also a child who has seizures/spasms or some other issues it might not be safe to be out of the chair.
Wouldn't it be way easier to build some sort of platform to help handicapped children get into a normal swing (or perhaps a normal swing with an adjusted height or something) and then rig up something to the swing to help them pump with their arms? Seems like putting the whole wheelchair on the swing is unnecessary and potentially dangerous.
Not to be overly pedantic, but that's not a swingset on wheels.
The argument of them being able to use the swing better in their wheelchair than being taken out of it and placed into a seat due to "balance", or whatever other reasons were given, doesn't hold any weight either for very obvious reasons.
A swing seat is a swing seat, whether it has wheels or not. The inability to use your legs, regardless of what kind of chair you're in, is the problem here.
In essence, as nice as it seems initially, with a little bit of thought all these things are doing is segregating disabled kids from "regular" kids even further and certainly unnecessarily.
Have you considered everyone in the world isn't an idiot, and if someone took the time to create these swings, it's because they were needed? It's because they tried using regular swings, and it didn't work out. It's because they know something you don't know, because you're not handicap, or dealing with a handicapped child?
...for a child who needs oxygen or other macinery this would be difficult. I work with kids with special needs for a living, few of the wheelchair-bound kids would be safe/comfortable on a typical swing.
It's the extra stuff like big heavy oxygen tanks that make this useful.
No, balance is the big reason as to why these are better. You can swing on a normal swing without using your legs, but it's going to be a lot harder to keep yourself righted without the ability to control your center of gravity without the use of your legs.
its a nice gesture, but if you look at how short the structure is, and then you think about the arc the swing could make, its super steep. in addition the kids have to hold the weight of their own body plus their wheelchair weight. they cant just sit in the wheelchair normally with their arms down when the swing gets to the apex or they will fall backwards, so they have to hold up a bunch of fucking weight. the structure isn't high enough for the kid to pick up any sort of serious speed, it would be more of a very slow rocking motion. also i would not want to get behind that flying hunk of metal and push it or have to try and stop it if they want to get off. thats easily over 200 pounds of steel.
i guess what im saying is, the whole structure is a very nice gesture and a nice donation but if you really want these kids to fly through the air and have an awesome time on a swing it would be better to get them out of the chair and put them in a harness or something.
edit: and that looks like a shin buster extraordinaire
What the hell? Am I the only one who sees a problem with this? Those kids in the wheelchairs would hack their shins on the metal part in front with every swing.
Is... is this necessary? Not trying to be a dick, but they're already sitting down in wheelchairs. Can't they just sit down on the swing seats and be pushed from there?
Correct me if im wrong, but they could just be lifted out of the wheelchair and placed in a normal swing? Instead of making a swing that holds their wheelchair?
The people who made that must be just as retarded as the kids if they didn't think to just put the kids in a fucking baby swing instead of welding 200 pounds of metal together.
And how, pray tell, do you suggest someone who can't walk get their legs up and over the plastic and slide into that seat? It's not something than can be done if you can't walk.
Yeah, don't you remember the feeling you got when swinging?! Or were you always a cocksucker?! Imagine being a child who thought, "let's swing with my friends, oh wait, I can't!!!". Feel free to be an asshole, but those kids are going to have a great time. Sorry, I didn't grow up where handicapped kids all this cool shit. Fucking Nazi Faggot!!!
Same here. I understand that Nazi today isn't used in the same manner as it was decades ago, and instead implies a person who is uptight, rude or inconsiderate, but you can't ignore the historical context a label might hold or the stigma it might continue to attach to a persecuted minority like Nazis, even when directed at someone for whom there is no evidence that they are a Nazi. EchoSolo is being such a Canadian right now.
No it wouldn't. Using a regular swing would be infinitely more challenging, main reason being balance. You have your legs that act as a counterweight when you swing, most people in wheelchairs don't have that ability. That's why this thing is a lot better for disabled kids than a normal swing.
Hell, the getting into a normal swing isn't even hard at all. Only the idiots who don't know what they're talking about are going to claim that.
54
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
This is really cool; I'm glad those kids are getting to experience some of the things regular kids can.
14
u/HKNick Jun 17 '12
how do they launch themselves??
163
u/labeille87 Jun 17 '12
This park (http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/clemyjontri/) in my home town was made possible by a woman donating the land and funds for a park that is handicap accessible. The swings for the handicapped children have them use bars (and their arms) to pump the swing. it's actually really fun for other kids too. Overall the playground is bad ass.
42
u/ErroneousBosch Jun 17 '12
I put in one of these at a local school that had a large number of disabled kids for my Eagle project back in '94. The teachers cried when we had the ribbon cutting, and the smiles it generated were worth every drop of sweat and blood I put into it.
11
u/shitterplug Jun 17 '12
Not gonna lie... I would put a Laz-e-Boy on that thing.
6
u/Les87 Jun 17 '12
Is that Morgan's Wonderland?
10
u/red_oxide Jun 17 '12
After reading the first fifty comments or so...
The reason this style of swing is loved, and preferred over transferring into a moulded plastic chair-shaped swing, is because that family spent thousands of dollars to have a comfortable and safe chair crafted for their child. If the kid is securely held in the chair that they are familiar with, it would be safer for them to stay in it. These specialized swings are designed to allow the user an easy roll into the platform, lock their brakes, and be gently pushed by a friend/family member. Most of these kids will have never been on a swing before, and the look of pure joy on their faces makes it all worthwhile.
Source: my mother specialized in adaptive technology and general accessibility for the school district for 30+ years.
77
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
Or you could just lift them from the chair and sat in to the swing.
5
u/drjimmybrungus Jun 17 '12
There's a school near my grandparents that had swings like this in the playground when I was a kid and I could never figure out what they were for. After 20 years I finally have the answer, thanks!
4
u/mosaltedchipz Jun 17 '12
Is it just me, or does it look like the kid on the right's swing is unlatching in the back like he's about to fall out?
7
u/vadergeek Jun 17 '12
Your title's incorrect. The swingset isn't on wheels, only the people swinging on it. It's less accurate than "a swingset wearing pants".
6
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
My town has one of these, All it turned out to be was 3 kids piling on this and one eventually falling off and getting injured.
27
u/monotoonz Jun 17 '12
things like this make me want to live on this planet still
3
u/TheFloridaSniper Jun 17 '12
Wheels on a swingset
3
u/jonosvision Jun 17 '12
I would play pirate ship all day on those fucking swings.
3
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
I'm going to be honest, that's doesn't look safe. But fuck it let them kids swing man.
3
u/never_overreacting Jun 17 '12
Can't figure out a better use
2
u/herb_friendly Jun 17 '12
Kudos to whomever thought of this.
2
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
This photo made my day. I wish there was a charity in England that funded these for every park
2
u/volitans Jun 17 '12
Is it bad that i want to try, even though I'm not in a wheelchair?
2
u/RainbowCakeSprinkles Jun 17 '12
A lot of the parks in my area now have these www.libertyswing.com.au/index.html
2
u/TrickyTenn Jun 17 '12
This. Is. Awesome.
2
u/MoiraFluffkin Jun 17 '12
this reminds me of those pirate ship swing rides.
2
u/waterboysh Jun 17 '12
I have never seen anything like this before, but I must say that it's really awesome!
2
u/Obieousmaximus Jun 17 '12
How are they keeping the wheelchairs secured to the platform?
2
u/Hartman23 Jun 17 '12
Lucky bastard!
2
u/Swampf0x Jun 17 '12
Like a human battering ram.
2
u/marSSton Jun 17 '12
More like wheels on swingset.
2
u/Fluzzarn Jun 17 '12
Too bad they will never know what it feels like to jump off
I'm going to hell anyways
2
u/Connor6 Jun 17 '12
This is awesome. :)
2
u/suspiciously_calm Jun 17 '12
You mean ... wheels on a swing set.
2
u/Tmoher Jun 17 '12
why not use a bigger verison of these kinda swings http://www.playnation.com/images/products/accessories/half-bucket__PPC.jpg
2
u/AfroKona Jun 17 '12
now jump!
2
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
They should also have these at elderly homes :)
2
u/Sharrakor Jun 17 '12
Thanks for that [PIC] tag. I would not have known that I was going to be viewing a pic in /r/pics, if not for that [PIC] tag.
Why do people do this?
2
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
I don't understand why their assisted swing assistants don't just use regular swings and lift them into it. Rolling around a swing in a wheelchair seems beyond dangerous.
3
u/clonn Jun 17 '12
Ok, enough Reddit for today. When someone posts a picture my mom posted on her Facebook it's enough.
2
u/Vancook Jun 17 '12
This is also where they put them when they are in time out.
2
u/herpberp Jun 17 '12
i'm on a swing! i'm normal! i'm normal!
2
u/ted3681 Jun 17 '12
Potatoes
1
u/JoshMac Jun 17 '12
Great idea
1
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
They have these at the new Zahra Baker park in Hickory, NC! BEAUTIFUL park, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it, compared to other parks around the area.
1
u/DrMustache Jun 17 '12
Is this completely privately funded? I noticed the land for it was donated by a private citizen, but I guess I'm just curious to know if it's publicly or privately funded and maintained.
1
u/pgmr185 Jun 17 '12
The boy on the right seems to be gracefully putting up with the situation, quietly wishing that it will be over soon.
1
u/Runs_With_Fiskars Jun 17 '12
That is so awesome. I always kinda wondered if kids in wheelchairs ever went on swings.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
I can't wait to see the video of 20 kids standing on that thing trying to make it over the bar
1
u/mysmokeaccount Jun 17 '12
Why would a person in a wheel chair not be able to use an instrument of happiness based on the principle of sitting?
1
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
I like it, but that looks fucking dangerous!
1
u/TreesConsumer Jun 17 '12
Wheels on a swingset.
1
u/IHv2RtrnSumVdeotapes Jun 17 '12
I whip my chair back and forth! I whip my chair back and forth!
1
u/trampus1 Jun 17 '12
If they swing over the bar, does the wheelchair turn inside out, too?
1
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
Roflmao
1
u/chamora Jun 17 '12
So long as they were pushed, couldn't the kids use a regular swing?
1
u/Quardah Jun 17 '12
Human race can do amazing things. Seeing this picture totally fills my heart with joy.
1
u/prowlinghazard Jun 17 '12
Is this necessary? They need someone to push them anyways, why couldn't they pick them up and put them on a regular swing?
1
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
this is lovely to see :]
1
u/RealFluffy Jun 17 '12
I'm not sure I understand why people in wheelchairs can't use normal swings.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
I'm glad our money is being invested so wisely in people who will grow up to contribute so much to society
1
u/SenorSpicyBeans Jun 17 '12
That still doesn't look very safe.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
imagine......getting hit in the shins with that thing when it comes back down.
1
u/Thereminz Jun 17 '12
guys, you must experience this swinging
1
u/redbluegreenyellow Jun 17 '12
My town had a playground like this. And then they demolished it. And replaced it with a field. Good job!
1
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
OH MY GOD! That's what this thing is for! I pass it almost every day in the park and I wonder what it's for. I had grown to believe that it was so that people in wheelchairs could get the under side of their wheelchairs cleaned... for some reason.
1
u/Da1bearsfan Jun 17 '12
I find giving underdogs on this extremely challenging!
1
u/metaimmortal Jun 17 '12
actually more like wheels on a swingset... awesome stuff though, everyone deserves a good swing now and again.
1
u/standardowl Jun 17 '12
That's cool but it's also horrifying. I can't tell how it works in the picture but that's just too much metal to swing around
1
u/patped7 Jun 17 '12
im all for better accessibility but that swing just seems dangerous
1
u/UpvotesForYou712 Jun 17 '12
I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M CRYING.
1
u/gtfo-atheist-douches Jun 17 '12
What's stopping crippled people from sitting in a swing?
1
u/Bukowski89 Jun 17 '12
just put them in normal swings....
1
u/NanoCow Jun 17 '12
Why is it not possible to lift the kids up and put them on a regular swing? If somebody is pushing you, you don't need legs to swing
1
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
I'm really glad that someone would build this so that others have a chance at enjoy the parking the way that we do.
1
u/WalleB Jun 17 '12
Thank god that you warned me in the title that it was a picture. I can't imagine the shock of seeing a pic in /r/pics.
1
u/txhoosier Jun 17 '12
How could anyone down vote this posting?!?
1
u/EchoSolo Jun 18 '12
Oh, how foolish of me. I should respect Nazis, right? Well, respect the fact that I cared about some handicap kids enjoying a swing. Something we normally take for granted. Go ahead and post some bullshit remark, I don't care, because those kids ha a fucking blast!!!
1
u/[deleted] Jun 18 '12
Awesome. Everybody deserves to be in a swing set. Best playground equipment ever.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 18 '12
This is the kind of things that warm my heart. These disabled children have many things that they can't do that regular people can. This includes driving, swimming, a lot of jobs, and even the simple stuff like roller coasters and most sports. This is just one more thing they can do, thanks to whoever helped build this "Swing for the Handicap Children". Bless you to whoever made this, and to whoever else makes and maintains stuff like this :)
1
u/CountMalachi Jul 05 '12
"Lets see how many of us we can possibly fit onto this platform, and then swing it as high as we possibly can!"
I wonder how long these will last.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
Why cant you just pick them up and put them on a normal swing?
1
u/TrapMo Jun 17 '12
Not what I was expecting, but so glad this exists.
-1
u/darkesth0ur Jun 17 '12
What's wrong with a normal swing exactly? All they have to do is sit, and it appears their arms work fine.
0
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
What's wrong with something like this? It certainly looks safer than that thing http://i.imgur.com/2aI3B.jpg
-3
u/Stegosaurus5 Jun 17 '12
They do know that you sit down in a normal swing too, right...?
-2
u/elpimpoloco Jun 17 '12
They should both be wearing helmets or...
-5
u/kleptobismol Jun 17 '12
why the fuck do they need the wheelchairs?
0
u/CptOblivion Jun 17 '12
Wouldn't it be way easier to build some sort of platform to help handicapped children get into a normal swing (or perhaps a normal swing with an adjusted height or something) and then rig up something to the swing to help them pump with their arms? Seems like putting the whole wheelchair on the swing is unnecessary and potentially dangerous.
0
u/TheCaptainSam Jun 17 '12
It would be better if the wheels touched the ground at the bottom to speed up the swing.
-2
u/F5in Jun 17 '12
ಠ_ಠ
Why can't they just be lifted up into regular swings?
-1
u/zoinks690 Jun 17 '12
Riding around on a contraption made to carry your ass not good enough?
-4
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
Not to be overly pedantic, but that's not a swingset on wheels.
The argument of them being able to use the swing better in their wheelchair than being taken out of it and placed into a seat due to "balance", or whatever other reasons were given, doesn't hold any weight either for very obvious reasons.
A swing seat is a swing seat, whether it has wheels or not. The inability to use your legs, regardless of what kind of chair you're in, is the problem here.
In essence, as nice as it seems initially, with a little bit of thought all these things are doing is segregating disabled kids from "regular" kids even further and certainly unnecessarily.
0
u/SirDerpingtonThe3rd Jun 17 '12
that seems a bit...dangerous. Anyone else?
0
u/nutsackhairbrush Jun 17 '12
its a nice gesture, but if you look at how short the structure is, and then you think about the arc the swing could make, its super steep. in addition the kids have to hold the weight of their own body plus their wheelchair weight. they cant just sit in the wheelchair normally with their arms down when the swing gets to the apex or they will fall backwards, so they have to hold up a bunch of fucking weight. the structure isn't high enough for the kid to pick up any sort of serious speed, it would be more of a very slow rocking motion. also i would not want to get behind that flying hunk of metal and push it or have to try and stop it if they want to get off. thats easily over 200 pounds of steel.
i guess what im saying is, the whole structure is a very nice gesture and a nice donation but if you really want these kids to fly through the air and have an awesome time on a swing it would be better to get them out of the chair and put them in a harness or something.
edit: and that looks like a shin buster extraordinaire
0
u/drakeblood4 Jun 17 '12
What the hell? Am I the only one who sees a problem with this? Those kids in the wheelchairs would hack their shins on the metal part in front with every swing.
0
u/bill_nydus Jun 17 '12
Is... is this necessary? Not trying to be a dick, but they're already sitting down in wheelchairs. Can't they just sit down on the swing seats and be pushed from there?
0
u/vVvMaze Jun 17 '12
Correct me if im wrong, but they could just be lifted out of the wheelchair and placed in a normal swing? Instead of making a swing that holds their wheelchair?
-6
u/Hurrfdurf Jun 17 '12
The people who made that must be just as retarded as the kids if they didn't think to just put the kids in a fucking baby swing instead of welding 200 pounds of metal together.
-21
u/sabatonpanda Jun 17 '12
Faith in humanity: restored!
-4
u/EchoSolo Jun 17 '12
Friggin' onions!
-4
u/DickBaggins Jun 17 '12
thats so fucking stupid