Anything Is Possible

Sixth-grader Melody Day could not hold back her tears of joy. It was August 2020, and she had just entered the new playground at Heritage Intermediate School in Wentzville, Missouri. Called the Melody Garden, the playground was the result of two years of Melody’s hard work and determination.

“I am amazed by this,” Melody said.

Why was she so happy? The Melody Garden wasn’t just any playground. It was a playground for all kids—including kids who use wheelchairs, like her. 

Melody was born with cerebral palsy (CP), a condition that affects movement, balance, and posture. CP happens when the brain can’t properly send messages to muscles. 

People with CP can experience a variety of symptoms. In Melody’s case, she is unable to walk on her own. She has trouble getting in and out of her wheelchair, and it’s hard for her to lift things with her right hand. 

Because she uses a wheelchair, Melody often found herself sitting alone at recess. Her friends would chat with her for a bit but then run off to the swings or monkey bars. Melody could not join them because the playground wasn’t accessible to her; she couldn’t use any of the equipment. In fact, she couldn’t even enter the playground, because it was surrounded by a low concrete barrier and filled with gravel that she could not navigate in her wheelchair. 

One day when she was in fourth grade, Melody once again watched her friends go off and play. 

“I thought to myself, Why am I just sitting here?” she remembers.

That’s when Melody had an idea. She would help her school build an inclusive playground, where no one would be made to feel like an outsider.

Not so long ago, most school buildings were not accessible to kids who used walkers or wheelchairs, and public schools could deny entry to students with disabilities. And it wasn’t just schools. Restaurants, stores, museums, public transportation—indeed, most public spaces—were all designed without consideration for those with disabilities. 

A law called the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) helped change that. Passed in 1990, the ADA made it illegal to discriminate against persons with disabilities. The law requires schools, stores, and other buildings to be accessible. It has led to more ramps into buildings, wheelchair lifts on buses, Braille on elevator buttons, and closed-captioning in stadiums and theaters.

Despite these improvements, some public areas remain inaccessible. Thanks to Melody, the playground at Heritage is no longer one of them. But it would take her time and effort to turn her vision for the playground into a reality.

Melody presented her idea to her principal—who loved it. But there was a problem: The school didn’t have the funds to pay for it. 

Melody was not about to let that stop her though. She started a GoFundMe page, where people donated money. Her classmates gave their allowances and held fundraisers. A playground equipment company called Cunningham Recreation stepped in to support the project as well. 

As Melody helped make plans for the playground, she was thinking not just about herself and her friends, but also about the students who would attend Heritage in the future. It was important to Melody that the playground be accessible to all kids—not just those in wheelchairs. After all, she points out, “people in wheelchairs aren’t the only ones who have disabilities.” 

The Melody Garden was finally completed in the summer of 2020. It features six large, colorful musical instruments as well as a “buddy bench” where friends can sit together. And the gravel that surrounded the old equipment has been replaced by a flat surface. 

Now 13, Melody has moved on to middle school, where there is no playground and students don’t get recess. (“And I’m bummed about it,” she says.) 

Meanwhile, a new group of students is enjoying the Melody Garden. To some people, it may look like just a few instruments. But to Melody and others, it’s a place that lets them know they belong.

^{This article was originally published in the May 2022 issue.}