ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a preschool assessment and treatment centre, called Adventure Place, for emotionally disturbed children in North York. It deals first with the centre's outdoor play programme and guiding philosophy and second with the playground that was built in response to the needs of the programme. The Adventure Place assessment and treatment programme was designed on the premise that play is the most powerful learning medium that the young child has. In the good play environment, many of the child's emotional, social, cognitive and physical needs can be met. The play programme on the unimproved site was based on criteria that became the basis for the design of the playground itself. Children with severe communication disorders began to communicate non-verbally through play. The kind of playground that Adventure Place required to fulfil its special programme is what any child needs for healthy emotional and physical growth.
