Moving about

The play area must be paved with material which responds to some basic requirements:
-  must weaken the bang of possible falls as much as possible;
-  must drain water quickly;
- must be a compact surface, uniform, and free of holes, dips, disconnections or protuberances.

The most suitable material is anti-trauma rubber. It is available in the form of wide tiles, or cast during building (in different colours) making it possible to cover the area of the irregular perimeter and produce decorative elements.

D	D	D
D	D	D

Loose material like gravel, sand, cobbles, bark, etc. should not be used to pave play areas.
You can also opt for the simple grassy field, as long as a compact surface is guaranteed, the ground is sufficiently level and free of holes and the grass kept very low with regular cutting. Special attention must be paid during the restoration period of the optimal features of the walking level, above all to eliminate dips that tend to form where playing is more intense. D
D
To help children with visual impairments to return rapidly to the start of the toy that includes the repetition of the same activity (as for example, a slide, or a tunnel, or a combination of bridges) it could be useful to provide with tactile guides to facilitate orientation and promote rapid movement. Such guides could be established by appropriately anchored chords, or a wooden, plastic, or metal handrail, be it tubular or differently shaped. Attention must be paid however: metal is very annoying to touch when the temperature is particularly high or low. It would be preferable, therefore, that the handrail in metal were coated with materials less sensitive to temperature (for example: plastic or wood).

Attention must be paid so that the hand can run smoothly on the rails provided and without any interruption, obstacle or protuberance. Such guides can also be useful as a support for children with balancing difficulties.
One of the major disadvantages of rails which have just been described is that if placed outdoors, they tend to degrade and become dirty very quickly; it should not be forgotten that children with visual impairments relay above all on their tact which must be safeguarded. Also, no one likes to run their hands along a dirty or rusty surface, covered in paint which flakes off, or on which the hand can be injured by splints or sharp edges. It becomes essential therefore that frequent maintenance and cleaning of the all the elements that have the function of tactile guiding, or serve to transmit information through hand contact, be guaranteed.