New playground designed for kids with special needs

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New playground designed for kids with special needs

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By Nick Sortal

Staff Writer

October 27, 2004

and Luke Munson know their daughter is gone forever, so they have

channeled their heartache to create a place for other children to smile and

play.

Caitlyn's Corral, a playground designed especially for the disabled, is planned

for Vista View Park in Davie. In August, Broward County approved the master plan

for an expansion of Vista View, and county commissioners tentatively voted Sept.

21 to name the playground area Caitlyn's Corral in honor of Caitlyn Ann Munson,

who died of spinal muscular atrophy at age 9 months on Feb. 10, 2002.

Caitlyn's Corral will be the first playground specifically for the disabled in

Broward County, and is expected to draw visitors from throughout south Broward

to Vista View Park.

The playground will consist of a series of three play areas, serving three age

groups. A water-play area, elevated swings and interactive features also are

planned, and both disabled and able-bodied siblings will play side-by-side.

" It covers every sensory limitation and every mobility disability, " said

Munson, who, along with her husband, proposed the playground. " We try

to level the playing field. Hopefully, it will make children not with

limitations more open and more accepting. "

The Munsons, who live about a mile from the park in western Davie, contacted

Broward County Commissioner Lori Parrish a year ago about building a playground

for the disabled. Parrish's granddaughter, Kourtney Schmidt, died in 1999 after

being diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, and Parrish's daughter,

Schmidt, ran a project to build disabled-friendly Kourtney's Korner playground

in St. Augustine. Spinal muscular atrophy limits muscle control, and those

affected have trouble crawling, walking or even swallowing.

Parrish teamed the Munsons with the Florida Engineering Society's Broward

Chapter, which was seeking a charitable project to work on. The group has

donated about $100,000 in time to the project, Munson said. Others

have offered professional advice or letters of support.

" It just snowballed. It seems that every person that finds out about it just

takes off with it, " she said.

The Munsons proposed the name and compiled 10 letters of support and 10 other

signatures that were presented to the County Commission in support of the

playground and its naming.

" Disabled children spend countless hours in doctor's offices, therapy sessions

or undergoing medical tests or surgeries, " wrote Kim Nesselt of Plantation.

" Every day is a challenge for them. Every day they have to be brave.

" They deserve a place where they can go to have some fun. "

Luke Munson said the playground can combine fun and development.

" There's a lot that these kids do in physical therapy that doesn't require a lot

of equipment, " he said, such as rolling a ball up a channel and catching it upon

the return. " But if it's in a park, in a fun setting, then it's something they

want to do instead of have to do. "

Vista View Park, which is built on a garbage landfill at 4001 SW 142nd Ave.,

opened as a 150-acre park July 13 of last year. Two months later, the county

paid $12.8 million for a 61-acre addition that wasn't part of the landfill.

Caitlyn's Corral -- keeping with Davie's Western theme -- will be constructed on

this addition in about a year and will take up about an acre of land. The county

will use $2 million from the Safe Parks and Land Preservation bond issue voters

approved in 2000, and a $6.4 million Florida Communities Trust grant.

Because the naming of county-owned property requires 30 days' notice, the final

approval will not be until this week's commission meeting.

" It's not as important that it's named after Caitlyn as it is just to build the

park, " Luke Munson said.

Nick Sortal can be reached at nsortal@... or .

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