What people have said...
"It was a happy coincidence that the day I saw the Liberty Swing in action was July 4th, a great anniversary for freedom and liberty."
"What I witnessed in a park in Hurstville was clever engineering giving children with a disability the freedom to do something simple yet exhilarating - something we all take for granted - to have a swing."
"Everyone who sees the Liberty Swing in action describes the joy on the faces of children enjoying a swing for the first time. I know because I witnessed it myself."
"That's why I'm proud to support this innovative product."
Bob Carr
Premier of New South Wales
Current Member of the Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Parliament
Minister for the Arts, Minister for Citizenship
"A normal part of growing up is to be able to go on the swings. When we first saw it...there was a queue for the kids to get on of no less than 30 all the time. We knew that we had to put one in for the kids of Melbourne."
Norm Hutton
Variety Club of Melbourne
Victoria, Australia
"I have received many thank you calls from parents telling me how delighted they are now that the whole family can enjoy coming to the park and experiencing that exhilarating feeling that only a swing can provide."
"No longer do children confined to a wheelchair have to sit on the side and watch their siblings have all the fun."
"Thank you for your dedication and effort in developing this product and I will continue to proudly show it off to anyone who shows even the slightest interest."
Cr. Sophie Ramsey
Mayor
Shire of Melton, Victoria, Australia
I thought I'd drop you a note to thank you for your fantastic Liberty Swing. My daughter, Mia, is 7 and uses a powered wheelchair. A normal swing for her is impossible to use unless I sit on one with her on my lap. We've been using the swing in Centennial Park these holidays and it's just fantastic. It' just great that it goes so high and that it gives us all such a thrill. Thank you so much."
Sandi and Mia Pomirski
Waverly, New South Wales, Australia
"I take this opportunity to congratulate Hurstville City Council, which officially opened the swing on July 21st. The Mayor of Hurstville, Councillor Phillip Sanson. had the honor of opening that facility. I congratulate the Council on having the foresight and courage to assist Wayne Devine to make this dream become a reality for the disabled children of Hurstville and the surrounding communities."
"On the 21st of July, I saw children experiencing what we have all taken for granted. It was exciting to see the joy and amazement in their faces. The next day I again saw the swing being used by children with disabilities, with the carers sharing the children's excitement."
Mr. Kevin Patrick Greene
Current Member of the Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Parliament
"On Saturday and Sunday just gone, my daughter spent a total of 9 hours swinging on the Liberty Swing at Albert Park. I would lust like to thank you for giving her the opportunity to experience the joy of swinging. Her face was a picture and she drew so much attention from passers-by with her squeals of delight. Needless to say, she didn't want to go home."
Dolores Scally
Frankston, Victoria, Australia
"Council is making an effort to ensure that people with disabilities are able to enjoy our parks and will be considering the use of special equipment, such as the Liberty Swing, for use in regional parks that are designated accessible for people with disabilities."
Dawn Emerson
Sutherland Shire Council
New South Wales, Australia
"Born with cerebral palsy, nine-year old Nicholas has spent his young life confined to a wheelchair. If it wasn't for the ingenuity of Wayne Devine, Nicholas would not be enjoying the simple childhood pleasure of sailing through the air on a swing in the sunshine."
"If the smile that lights up on Nicholas' face as the swing rocks back and forth is any indication, Wayne Devine has come up with a real winner in the Liberty Swing."
Deone Bennett
Assistant Principal
St George Special School
Sydney, News South Wales, Australia
"I think this swing has the ability to change lives - not only for the people who use them, but for everyone."
Wayne Devine
Liberty Swing Inventor
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
We are two therapists who work for Disability Services Commission, and we cover the Kalamunda Shire in our geographical region. We were approached by a Local Area Coordinator for Kalamunda to write a supporting letter for the installation of a Liberty Swing in Stirk Park.
We feel honoured to be able to write a letter in support of a piece of equipment that will:
a) Be a wonderful play tool to a large number of children (including those with a disability)
b) Show support for inclusion of all members of our community
c) Be great in facilitating skills development, especially for those with a disability that have not traditionally been able to participate within a "normal" play environment with their peers.
It is beneficial for children of all ages (and adults) to interact with a variety of members of their community, including those with a disability. It is great for children to be around other children of a higher ability level, as they present with different attributes to challenge and encourage skill development (such as gross motor milestones and patience) and social development (including acceptance and turn taking). Making the Liberty Swing a community resource that is accessible to all members of the community is a positive step towards encouraging this sharing of physical, social and emotional development.
The Liberty Swing will offer a number of therapeutic benefits for all those who will access it. It can help to promote strength and postural control, motor coordination, vestibular stimulation, deep breathing, turn taking, freedom of movement, language development and sensory regulation (the ability to interpret the environment around us and being able to regulate the input from various stimuli). Children who use wheelchairs often have very limited voluntary movement, and lack the opportunity to experience the sensation of swinging. The Liberty Swing would provide them with an amazing and stimulating experience!
We feel the Liberty swing will be a fabulous therapeutic tool, promoting play, sensory, physical and emotional development, as well as being a great promotion for inclusivity. We have no hesitations in recommending the Liberty Swing for Stirk Park.
Catherine Narbett
Physiotherapist Bree Woollams
Occupational Therapist
DISABLED PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT A SWINGING SUCCESS
Three months after its launch, the Redcliffe City Council's Liberty Swing has proved so popular that disability groups have had to book a time to use the public facility.
Disability services spokesperson Cr Andrew Jones said the success of the playground equipment, located at Pelican Park, Clontarf, was featured on an ABC TV program "The New Inventors" last week.
Cr Jones said the program stated that the Liberty Swing had been adopted throughout New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, but Redcliffe's swing had proved particularly successful.
"We have had disability groups call to book specific times to use the swing and organize bus trips, traveling 100 to 200 kilometres (65 to 140 miles) for the experience," Cr Jones said.
"A regular stream of mini buses, visiting from The Gap, incorporate the use of the swing with the feeding of pelicans and we've also had regular visitors from Morayfield, Mount Crosby, Oxley and Bracken Ridge."
"Redcliffe City Council has a strong commitment to providing services for disabled people and I am delighted that so many children have been able to enjoy the swing."
Cr Jones said the swing's inventor, Wayne Devine, had dedicated more than 10 years designing the swing.
"Mr. Devine was involved in designing and creating playgrounds in 1988 when he became aware that conventional playground equipment did not cater for children with disabilities."
"He noticed that while able-bodied children laughed and enjoyed the playground swings in his local park, a child in a wheelchair looked on with envy, so he began the process of creating a piece of playground equipment that children with a disability could enjoy."
"The Variety Club of Australia has taken up the Liberty Swing as a national cause and is working to have swings installed in parks around the country."
The Liberty Swing operates under the same principles as a normal playground swing but incorporates a ramp, which allows a wheelchair to be loaded onto the swing. It is fitted with a torsion spring to reduce the weight and instructions showing how to lift and lower the ramp to prevent back injury.
Rebecca Hackshaw
Public Relations Officer
Redcliffe City Council
Hi
First I would just like to say a huge thankyou for the joy which was experienced by a close friend of mine on the weekend. Sunni-Louise is 5 years old and suffers from SMA. She has been in a wheel chair for the majority of her life. About a month ago we were at Wynnum and it was heart breaking when Sunni again cried ‘there’s no swings here that I can go on’
Later that week to my surprise I discovered the Liberty Swing at Roma St Parklands. We took Sunni in on Saturday just gone, what an awesome day! To see Sunni laughing and screaming “look no hands” was so emotional, so rewarding. She was on the swing for about 30 mins and when she got off she was so tired, so exhausted from the amount of fun she’d just had. It was crazy!
I’m not sure if the Liberty swing is available at other parks, however would be most grateful if you could let me know of other locations
Thanks
Sandy Warneke
Data Services Manager
Leah Millar
Community Services Officer
PO Box 42
Kalamunda, WA 6926
Thank you for supporting the installation of a Liberty Swing at Glenallen School. The swing has allowed the students to explore the environment and to develop the use of their bodies in new and dynamic ways.
The deepening pool of information regarding brain development and maturity is showing the importance of having a variety of sensory inputs during childhood to guide, prompt and refine brain development. Sensory input includes any stimulus that can be seen, felt, smelt, tasted or heard. It also includes the movement and position senses that are provided by the balance organs in the inner ear.
Most children will happily spend a considerable amount of time on play equipment, especially swings and slides. Many of our students, especially those who spend the majority of their time in wheelchairs, have little opportunity to experience the wide variety of sensory input available to more mobile children.
The addition of the Liberty Swing to the Glenallen playground has suddenly given the opportunity for some of Melbourne’s most disabled children to experience this often sought after movement and position sense. Anecdotally we have noticed an improvement in mood, concentration and an associated decrease in self-stimulating behaviours from students after the use of the swing.
The swing has also given new appropriate and motivating opportunities for students to develop their communication and social interaction skills. It provides the students with the opportunity to ask to go on the swing, a chance to ask for ‘more’ or to ‘finish’ and allows commenting on whether or not they enjoyed the activity. Learning to wait for an opportunity to go on the Swing has acted as an appropriate turn taking activity.
Use of the swing has also aided programs designed to teach sitting balance, reach and grasp skills, head control and trunk stability. It has provided a perfect unstable, but safe, environment in which the students can further develop their body skills.
I would like to thank you on behalf of the Glenallen Community for this very generous, valuable and functional addition to our playground.
With Thanks
Matthew Yates
Physiotherapist
Glenallen School
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