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At first look, the playground at the Children's Guild-Transformation Academy in Baltimore, Maryland, looks like any other. It has swings, slides, and places for children to climb and crawl.
乍一看，位于马里兰州巴尔的摩的儿童协会转型学院的操场和其他任何操场都很像。它有秋千、滑梯和供孩子们攀爬的地方。
But the playground is not just a place for fun. It is also a place where students can learn, grow and gain independence. Everything — from the kind of surface it sits on, to the color of its sitting areas, to the placement of the surrounding fence — is specifically designed for kids with autism.
然而，巴尔的摩市马里兰州儿童协会变革学院的操场并不仅仅是一个娱乐场所。它还是一个学生可以学习、成长和获得独立性的地方。从它所处的表面的种类，到坐区的颜色，再到周围栅栏的位置，一切都是专门为患有自闭症的儿童设计的。
Mark Rapaport is the managing director of autism services at the Transformation Academy. He told VOA Learning English the school accepts students aged 5 to 21 with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and are lower-functioning.
马克·拉帕波特是变革学院的自闭症服务主任。他告诉美国之音英语学习部，学校接收5到21岁的自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）患者，且功能较低。
“None of our kids will ever drive,” Rapaport said. “None of our kids will ever live fully independently ... None of our kids graduate high school.”
“我们的孩子都不会开车，”拉帕波特说。“我们的孩子永远不会完全独立生活……我们的孩子不会高中毕业。”
Rapaport said the goal of Transformation Academy is to make the students as independent as possible in an effort to help them prepare for adult life. The school aims to provide help with developing communication and social skills, as well as practical abilities like cleaning or cooking.
拉帕波特说，变革学院的目标是尽可能地使学生独立，以帮助他们为成年生活做准备。学校旨在提供帮助，培养沟通和社交技能，以及清洁或烹饪等实际能力。
“And learning through play is a big deal,” Rapaport said. “The classroom is great. But it's [things like play] that’s at the heart of the mission, which is building independence and getting them to be able to go into the adult world.”
“通过玩耍学习是一件大事，”拉帕波特说。“课堂很好。但是[诸如玩耍之类的事物]正是使命的核心，即建立独立性并使他们能够融入成年世界。”
The playground, designed by Maryland company Sparks@Play, using structures manufactured by Landscape Structures, Inc., took months to develop, said Dan Hack. He works for Sparks@Play and helped lead the playground’s design. Hack said he and others spent weeks getting to know the students and understanding their needs before any building was started. The design process involved physical therapists, occupational therapists, and other specialists. The $500,000 project was funded with support from the state of Maryland and the nonprofit Orokawa Foundation.
这个操场是由马里兰州的Sparks@Play公司设计的，使用了由景观结构公司制造的结构，Dan Hack说，这个操场的设计花费了几个月的时间。他在Sparks@Play工作，并帮助领导操场的设计。Hack说，在进行任何建设之前，他和其他人花了几周时间了解学生并了解他们的需求。设计过程涉及物理治疗师、职业治疗师和其他专业人员。这个50万美元的项目得到了马里兰州政府和非营利组织Orokawa基金会的支持。
Parts of the playground that seem small are very important for children with autism and other disabilities. The surrounding fence extends into a wooded area to make it seem more open. And the ground under the play areas is made of soft, but solid materials to support students using wheelchairs or crutches.
操场的一些看似不起眼的部分对患有自闭症和其他残障的儿童非常重要。周围的栅栏延伸到一个树木茂密的地区，使其看起来更加开放。游乐区下面的地面由柔软但坚固的材料制成，以支持使用轮椅或拐杖的学生。
Instead of just one slide, there are two sitting side-by-side. That way, parents or teachers with older, larger students can go down the slide together with the kids. A spinning structure called the We-Go-Round has a place for kids with wheelchairs so they can also have fun.
与其说是一个滑梯，不如说是两个并排的滑梯。这样，年龄较大或个头较大的学生的家长或老师可以和孩子们一起玩滑梯。一个名为We-Go-Round的旋转结构为使用轮椅的孩子提供了一个可以玩耍的地方。
The playground’s designers say a number of sensory elements are also included to help the students. Children with autism often have Sensory Processing Disorder, which makes them very sensitive to certain sounds or textures.
操场的设计师表示，还包括了许多感官元素来帮助学生。患有自闭症的儿童通常患有感觉处理障碍，这使他们对某些声音或质地非常敏感。
The benches on the outside of the playground look simple from far away, but are “one of our most inclusive sensory” elements, Hack said. They have many different colors that bring about feelings of calm and curiosity. They are also made with smooth material that can be felt and moved. The academy's Rapaport said if a child starts to feel uneasy, they can sit down and feel the bench, which can help them relax.
操场外面的长椅从远处看起来很简单，但是它们是“我们最具包容感觉”的元素之一，Hack说。
它们有许多不同的颜色，能带来宁静和好奇的感觉。它们还用光滑的材料制成，可以触摸和移动。学院的拉帕波特说，如果孩子开始感到不安，他们可以坐下来感受一下长椅，这可以帮助他们放松。
There are also musical bells and large xylophones that produce calming sounds. An enclosed structure provides a place of peace and quiet if a student needs a break from play.
还有音乐铃和制造宁静声音的大木琴。如果学生需要休息，有一个封闭的结构提供了一个宁静的地方。
One of the most important designs, says Rapaport, is a tower that can spray water on multiple children. This can be an important way for older children with autism to get over their fears of water, which for them can be overstimulating.
拉帕波特说，最重要的设计之一是一座可以向多个孩子喷水的塔。对于年龄较大的自闭症患儿来说，这可能是一个重要的方式，可以帮助他们克服对水的恐惧，因为对他们来说，水可能会过于刺激。
“Imagine you have a child that won't take a shower,” Rapaport said. “Now we can have kids go outside and they're standing under a sprayer and they're loving it. Why? Because they're watching other kids do it.”
“想象一下你有一个不愿意冲澡的孩子，”拉帕波特说。“现在我们可以让孩子们出去，他们站在喷水器下，他们非常喜欢。为什么？因为他们看着其他孩子这样做。”
Like the shower, much of the equipment is designed to persuade students to interact with each other, even though they might usually like playing alone. A swing set is designed to permit two kids to swing at the same time, for example.
与淋浴一样，许多设备的设计目的是说服学生们相互交往，尽管他们通常可能喜欢独自玩耍。例如，一个秋千被设计成可以让两个孩子同时秋千。
Celia Galion’s daughter Deborah is a 14-year-old who attends Transformation Academy. Deborah has a condition called tuberous sclerosis, which causes seizures, and which brought on her autism at a young age.
Celia Galion的女儿Deborah是一名就读于变革学院的14岁女孩。Deborah患有一种叫做结节性硬化的病症，导致癫痫，并在年幼时患上了自闭症。
“Deborah is a very sweet child,” Galion said. “She likes playing. She loves hugs. She's very affectionate and she likes to be loud. And so being outside is great.”
“Deborah是一个非常可爱的孩子，”Galion说。“她喜欢玩耍。她喜欢拥抱。她非常深情，喜欢大声说话。所以在外面玩是很好的。”
Galion said it has been four or five years since she has taken her daughter to a playground. She had resisted taking Deborah because other kids could be mean and she felt like many playgrounds were not safe.
Galion说，已经有四五年她没有带女儿去操场了。她曾抵制带Deborah去，因为其他孩子可能会很刻薄，而且她觉得许多操场并不安全。
But Galion said the new playground at Transformation Academy permits “children to feel like they have a little bit of freedom.” They can play “without having to necessarily have somebody standing right over them to make sure that they’re safe…it’s really, really great for them.”
但是Galion表示，变革学院的新操场让“孩子们感觉他们有一点自由。” 他们可以玩“而不必一定要有人站在他们身边确保他们安全…这对他们来说真的非常好。”
Rapaport said the school plans to open up the playground for everyone in the autism community, even if they do not attend Transformation Academy.
Rapaport表示，学校计划向自闭症社区的所有人开放操场，即使他们不是变革学院的学生。
Sparks@Play’s Hack said he thinks the playground can help autistic children of all ages develop their independence as they move into adulthood.
Sparks@Play的Hack表示，他认为操场可以帮助自闭症儿童在进入成年阶段时发展独立性。
“Being able to learn how to collaborate and work with other people and use your imagination and try things that you wouldn't have tried otherwise … shapes you into a much more confident and well-abled adult,” Hack said.
“能够学会如何与其他人合作、使用想象力并尝试以前不会尝试的事物……这能够塑造你成为一个更加自信和能干的成年人，”Hack说。
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Words in This Story
spectrum — n. a complete range of different opinions, people, etc.
practical — adj. skilled at manual tasks
therapist — n. a person trained in methods of treating illnesses especially without the use of drugs or surgery
occupational therapy — n. treatment that helps people who have physical or mental problems learn to do the activities of daily life
crutches — n. a long stick with a padded piece at the top that fits under a person's arm
texture — n. the way that something feels when you touch it
relax — v. to stop feeling nervous or worried
xylophone — n. a musical instrument that has a set of wooden bars of different lengths that are hit with hammers
affectionate — adj. feeling or showing love and affection
collaborate — v. to work with another person or group in order to achieve or do something
confident — adj. having a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something
