Intermountain Academy offers a positive teaching environment for youth with autism, though they felt something was missing — a safe space to play outdoors.
So they took matters into their own hands and created Intermountain Sensory Park, an inclusive and engaging play environment for children and families.
It's a new addition to the west side allowing kids of all abilities to come out, be active, and have fun. There’s a variety of play spaces including a music area, hopscotch, and even a maze.
Intermountain Academy and the City of Tucson collaborated to make the park become a reality.
Raakel Elzy, Intermountain Centers Vice President of Clinical Operations Specialty Services, says they strive to serve people with disabilities.
“So the park is so special to our students because they can really access the materials in a safe way," Elzy said. "Kids with autism are known to wander and not have adequate safety skills and so it really gives both staff, caregivers, families and the students a really great place to play, in a place that’s also super safe."
Elzy says Intermountain Academy clinicians and teachers were all in on the design.
"They were brought in to understand exactly what the functionality looked like for our students — what they would best use, what they would like to use the most," Elzy said. "The swing is by far the most popular item in our playground."
Elzy says they use the swings for a great communication attempt opportunity.
“We’ll pause and we’ll say, you know, more swing or again. They can make eye contact, use their peer or staff member's name," Elzy said.
It’s a project that has been in the works since 2020 and had a total of three phases.
Matt Christman, Project Manager for the City of Tucson Parks and Recreation, says the playground for kids ages 5-12 was completed in phase one, along with the shade structure, fencing and animal play figurines.
"And then phase two, we added some turf and ramadas and nature play and music equipment to get to the sensory aspect of the park," Christman said. "And then phase three was pickleball courts, a swing set, and some games that are painted on the concrete. There's a maze as well for the kids to enjoy."
Elzy says it’s all about keeping kids engaged, encouraging exploration, and having fun.
“A lot of our kids really love exploring with their hands and with their feet and then we also have the opportunity to teach indoors and outdoors," Elzy added.
Christman says the reason it's called Intermountain Sensory Park is because there's so many sensory aspects it.
"We have where kids can dig in the sand to find fossils. They can play music. They have turf, artificial turf on the grass so they can feel that, and then playing the games," Christman explained. "And having the pickleball courts, it's a sensory by the sound of the ball, and then looking at the maze and seeing that kind of stuff too."
The funding for the park was a joint effort. The school raised just over a million dollars in donations to help build the park. The City of Tucson Parks and Rec paid about $76,600 for the design development and Tohono O'odham Nation also gave Intermountain Academy a gaming grant of $41,400.
During school hours, the park is only available to Intermountain Academy students.
The park will be open to the community weekdays during the school year from 6-8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to sunset.
On weekends, holidays, and during the summer, enjoy the park from 6 a.m. to sunset.
The entire Tucson community is invited to the grand opening of Intermountain Sensory Park on Friday Oct. 3 at 10 a.m., located at 348 N. Commerce Park Loop.
——
Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
----
STAY IN TOUCH WITH US ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
