St. Vincent’s New Therapeutic Sensory Playground

EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) - Children and their families were the first to check out the Patricia Browning Stone Sensory Playground at Monday’s grand opening.

But the Tri-State’s newest indoor and outdoor playground has a greater purpose - helping children with Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD).

“The playground structures are made specifically for children with sensory issues so when we look at the senses, you see, you touch, you hear, your balance. So every single piece has an element of that that helps a child with balance, with a touch, with a socialization issue,” Dr. Maria Del Rio Hoover, Medical Director of St. Vincent’s Center for Children, said.

The playground will help children like Andrew Craig.

“Andrew has some issues with cross body and balance so if you ask him to stand on one foot he can do that. But he can’t do it while you ask him what he had for lunch yesterday. So environments like this can help him to learn those things things that we take for granted," Kyndel Craig, Andrew’s mother, said.

The sensory playground will serve alongside children's therapy and encourage children like Andrew to practice their skills - while having fun.

Andrew said his favorite part of the new playground is the swings.

Craig said activities like swinging and spinning help Andrew to calm down and release energy. She said she is very excited for Andrew to be able to play and learn on the sensory playground.

“A lot of times now therapy isn’t going to sit down at a desk and work on a sheet. It’s playing and learning to play and that’s how you do your therapy," Craig said.

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