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By CORTNEY KRELLER
On Tuesday, Feb. 3, Girl Scouts attended the Los Alamos County Council meeting to advocate for their fellow Girl Scout, Emmy.
Emmy was born with Rett Syndrome, a rare genetic condition which impacts her physical abilities.
The public comment period started with a statement from Emmy’s troop leader, “We are here today as a troop to voice our concerns about the lack of inclusive public areas for children in Los Alamos County and would specifically like to request that the county install inclusive swings in all public playgrounds.”
Then, Girl Scouts read their own letters to the council. A Girl Scout who attends a White Rock elementary school stated that she knows what it feels like not to have a place to play because she hasn’t had a playground at school for the past three years. Others stated that current swings were not inclusive, and therefore at birthday parties at the park, all their friends could not enjoy the playground.
Emmy and her mother concluded the Girl Scouts statements by giving a message about Emmy’s experience in Los Alamos County:
“I am Cortney Kreller and this is my daughter Emmy. Emmy has a rare neurological condition called Rett Syndrome that results in various disabilities. When we first learned the diagnosis, one of my first thoughts was that we would have to move somewhere else, because I couldn’t imagine how this small town could meet her needs. Now she is almost 9 and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.
In the early years we received support through the First-Born program and Las Cumbres. Then Pinon Elementary School built an amazing team of professionals that allows Emmy to thrive alongside her able-bodied peers in the general ed classroom. In the community Emmy is able to ski and participate in water sports with Adaptive Sports New Mexico and participate in an adaptive dance class with Dance Arts Los Alamos. She has been a member of Girl Scout troop 10507 earning badges and forming friendships with a wonderful group of girls for the last 3 years.
I say all of this to make the point that Los Alamos has proven itself to be a community that values inclusivity.
One area where we still struggle is with the playgrounds in Los Alamos County. I appreciate the effort that is being put into ADA considerations for our public spaces. At the same time, accessibility is not the same thing as inclusivity. My daughter goes to Rover Park in White Rock almost every day. There is nothing she can do on that playground. We have been to birthday parties there where she can only walk around the woodchips while all the other kids are on the swings or up in the slide structure. The upgrade to that playground a few years ago actually made the playground less inclusive for children with disabilities, not more. I think the upgrade to Pinon Park will do the same. My hope is that one day Los Alamos County will choose to build a truly all-inclusive playground with equipment for children of all abilities. In the meantime, I would be grateful for an adaptive swing at every playground in Los Alamos so that Emmy and the other disabled children here have the opportunity for inclusive play with other children in our public spaces.”
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