Last month, Megan Higgins, founder and president of Hudson Inclusive Playground (HIP), along with co-founder Dr. Jessica Hoefler and the many committee members, from parent advocates to medical professionals, including Dr. Adam Bartlett and Christine Callahan, welcomed families with children of all abilities to the DREAM Playground.
The playground — the first fully-inclusive playground in Summit County, located at Oak Grove Park, 2200 Barlow Road in Hudson — includes a soft rubber surface, sensory and musical equipment, a social story and adapted playground equipment from swings to a zipline.
The playground community project began four years ago after Higgins and Hoefler had a discussion about the limited accessible places to play for children with disabilities, including Higgins’ daughter Isabella.
“We gathered a group of people in our community who were like-minded and a part of the disability community in different ways, and decided to take this project,” Higgins says.
“The word inclusion means a lot of different things to different people,” says Bartlett, a pediatric physiatrist at Akron Children’s.
He says the playground is a place where children with disabilities can play side-by-side with typically developing children. It’s not just about having a wheelchair swing on one side of the playground and then the rest of the kids go somewhere different. It’s side-by-side, and go through some structures, where a wheelchair can roll up a ramp right next to the another kid who’s climbing in parallel — it’s not just a random technical feature — it really symbolizes this higher level of inclusion.”
“This playground helps children move forward in their own ways, at their own pace — together,” Higgins said at the opening. “This playground is for every person, every step, every wheel and every laugh — every time you play here, you are part of the story.”
Hudson Mayor Jeffrey Anzevino added, “For the City of Hudson, this is an amazing asset to our community.”
Claire Callahan, 13, whose brother, Andrew, was born with developmental disabilities, sees this as a chance to play with siblings, but also to help others.
“I’m excited for the younger kids,” she says. “They will get to play with their siblings or any other relative they know that is in a wheelchair. I will definitely come here with my brother, but I think it’s important for the younger kids so they can have that fun time to play.”
“For our family, it was very personal,” Christine Callahan says, adding she learned a lot about the process and what is considered ADA compliant.
“It’s not only just physical, it’s really trying to look at it from all different angles,” she says.
Izzy Foss, the 2026 Miss Teen Wheelchair Ohio USA, was there to celebrate the grand opening. She says it means so much to her and thinks it’s a great idea.
“I get to relive my childhood in the right way and I don’t have to struggle to play on the playground,” she says. “It’s now easy and fun for kids. I love they are doing more disability-related (opportunities) and are being more inclusive.”
There will also be a memorial garden to honor children who are part of the playground in spirit. The garden holds a special meaning to Hoefler, who lost her daughter Piper to spinal muscular atrophy.
“She did help build it in a lot of ways,” Hoefler said. “Her legacy, as well as some other wonderful kids in the community who recently passed away — we want them not to be forgotten.”
Bartlett hopes for the next phase that this is a new standard for other community inclusive playgrounds — whether municipalities are upgrading or building a new one.
“I think it’s becoming more the new standard, not just to have inclusive elements, but to be fully inclusive and fully accessible,” he notes.”I think that is what this specific project represents; every single element is accessible.”
