Sunday Times E-Paper

AUTISM HERE’S HOW PARKS FRIENDLY

AND PUBLIC LANDS ARE BECOMING MORE Quiet spaces, staff training, and safety barriers are just some ways parks are becoming more accommodating to those on the spectrum.

By Judith Newman Photographs Bylisa Winner

During the height of the pandemic, photographer Lisa Winner and her son started venturing out locally to Golden Gate National Recreation Area, in the San Francisco Bay area. National parks and other public lands are slowly beginning to make accommodations for families, like the Winners, who have children on the autism spectrum.

So you have a child who’s autistic, and you want to introduce them to the beauty of nature. Perhaps some gorgeous rock formations, a little hiking, the raw wonder of a night under the stars.

HOW DO YOU THINK THAT WILL WORK OUT?

The endless lines to get into the most popular

by allowing outside food and drink. (As someone who carried apples, bananas, and Cheerios with me

THE NEED FOR DEEP NATURE

surrounded by trees. That was the spark for her dream: To take an area in the wilderness and give it a certain thrive. In planning the trail, she consulted with Temple her groundbreaking books Thinking in Pictures and The in deep nature, so resist people who tell you to do this in a city park,’” Penman says. one-mile loop in the woods that is wheelchair sorts of sensory and physical needs. There is a quiet

kids can get their ya-yas out, a spot for smelling and kids have: elopement. There is a tendency for many, when overwhelmed or fearful or even happy, to take trees and prickly barberry bushes surrounding the were told we should clear the barberries and logs, but family for months beforehand, depending on what the kid’s issue is.” the parents to work through certain issues: riding in a

summers to work as counselors during the three-day are here.” Penman agrees, and thinks that while the U.S. has a long way to go to make natural spaces more

chalkboards where kids can draw a picture, write

TRAVEL TIPS

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2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

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