Autistic teen inspires Jefferson Parish to build Louisiana’s largest inclusive playground at Lafreniere Park

KENNER, La. (WVUE) - Tucked away in a Kenner neighborhood off West Esplanade Avenue, you'll find a playground with ninth-grader Anthony Fugarino's name on it.

Two years ago, Anthony's Missing Pieces Playground brought new life to Miguez Park.

"I thought, playground? Yes. But this big? Not really," Fugarino said.

Anthony's aunt, Jefferson Parish councilmember Arita Bohannan, spearheaded the $600,000 effort.

"Watching him play around other kids and not with other kids, I realized that he had a chance to play, too," Bohannan said. "That's what started the mission to build the playground here."

Now, the ground has been broken at Lafreniere Park for what would be the state's largest inclusive playground, the $1 million Anthony's Missing Pieces Playground.

Anthony's family says doctors diagnosed him with autism at a young age.

"I never thought of a disability," Fugarino said. "It's kind of just me being different from others."

Rebecca Connick, an occupational therapist at Ripple Child Development, works with kids on the autism spectrum. She says many children with the diagnosis, or with sensory needs, crave and love movement.

Walking through the 8,000-square-foot playset, Connick notices its sensory-rich space. The 'quiet cove' catches her attention.

"They can kind of come in and it's almost like a little hug, a solitary hug," Connick said. "It sounds like there's some sound-deadening here. That can just be a really good space for a reset."

She notices the patterned shadows cast on the ground when the sun is out.

"All kids, but especially a lot of children with autism, really find comfort in predictability and in concepts such as patterns, math, letters, numbers," Connick explained.

She says the playground is a clear example of inclusion.

"Having that embedded into a design is really special. And I've found that a lot of the kids that I work with, they want to play, and they want to play with peers," Connick said. "Sometimes, they just don't know how to."

Bohannan says the playground is not just for people on the autism spectrum.

"We have 1 in 13 people in Jefferson Parish who have some sort of disability: Physical, social, anxietal," said the councilwoman. "This will open the door for them to have play."

Bohannan first raised the money for the playground privately, before she was on the parish council. Now, she hopes to make Anthony's Missing Pieces Playground the new model for renovations across the parish.

"Inclusion is moving people like that, taking away some of their challenges and barriers," Bohannan said.

At Lafreniere Park, the ground is already broken, and it's projected to be the largest in the state.

"If you ever had a child who didn't make the team, you know that feeling, when your child is not included," said Bohannan. "This changes that for them."

The $1 million playground should be open by next spring.

"It's going to be amazing. I think everyone is going to love it," Fugarino said.