Calls for communication boards to ease 'meltdowns'

Robbie, pictured with his family, is calling on councils to install more communication boards in parks to help children express their needs

A father is calling for more picture boards to be put up in council parks to help parents communicate with their non-verbal children and avoid "meltdowns".

Robbie Barnes, 37, said communication boards help his five-year-old daughter to express her needs and make her "100 times happier".

The dad-of-four praised Stockton Borough Council for putting them up in Preston Park, but said he was frustrated by their absence in parks across South Tyneside where he lives.

A spokesperson for the local authority said it was "actively exploring options to include more inclusive signage".

The boards are designed to help those with speech, language and communication difficulties and feature words and their corresponding symbols.

Mr Barnes, who lives in Jarrow, said: "Looking around parks in South Tyneside there are no boards for people who are non-verbal to use.

"For my daughter that is the difference between finding out what she wants and her going into a meltdown which can last for hours."

The communication boards have words and their corresponding symbols including of toilets, swings and signs

Mr Barnes has started a petition calling on his local council to install boards.

"If I take my daughter to Preston park and she needs something it's easier to find out and that makes her 100 times happier.

"A board would only cost the council a couple of hundred pounds and it would make such a big difference," he said.

"It's a no brainer that all parks need them."

Labour's Nigel Cooke, cabinet member for environment, leisure and culture at Stockton Council, said: "The council is committed to being as accessible and as inclusive as possible across all of the Borough's parks.

"We work with the Stockton Parent Carer Forum to ensure that park features meet the needs of as many families as possible and incorporate their advice and feedback into future designs."

A spokesperson for Labour-led South Tyneside Council said it was "committed to making our public spaces inclusive".

"We recognise the importance of communication boards for non-verbal autistic children and we are grateful to the families who have shared their experiences," the spokesperson said.

"While communication boards are not currently installed in our parks, we are actively exploring options to introduce more inclusive signage as part of our ongoing efforts to improve accessibility."