I am proud to announce that the municipality of Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, USA, has put three (3) Point-N-Play banners in all of the municipal-managed playgrounds. You can find the first one at the Mt. Lebanon Park, the second one at Williamsburg Park, and the third one at Meadowcroft, hung near the climbing structure used by the Lincoln Elementary students.
I am doubly proud to announce that the Mt. Lebanon School District is putting up an additional six (6) Point-N-Play banners in all of the elementary and middle school playgrounds.
My next step is forwarding this information to some preschools and daycares and empowering other parents and teachers to advocate for these banners in their towns. I like to believe that communication is a human right and we all deserve to be understood and should strive to understand each other.
How Can I Help?
Even just one person can have an impact! Reach out to your local government, school district, or anyone who manages a playground and ask them to buy a banner! If you’re willing to pay for one, let them know you’ll buy it for them and drop it off for them to hang up.
Some schools have Parent Associations (PA) or Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) where you can get involved and suggest a fundraiser for a banner.
Posted by Just 1 Voice on Wednesday, January 11, 2023
How It Started
After having scrolled past a sponsored post by Autism Level Up! about these banners in August 2022, I asked the members in a local Facebook group if there was interest in getting these for our playgrounds. Everyone loved the idea and one person, Valerie Rose, offered to sponsor a banner! That was enough to motivate me to email the Mt. Lebanon Commissioners with the pitch.
Municipal Manager Keith McGill wasted no time. He jumped on the idea, offering to sponsor a second banner. With three municipal playgrounds and two sponsors, it felt like a no-brainer to buy the third banner myself.
The first of the three AAC banners was put up in October 2022 at the Mt. Lebanon Main Park. It’s located at the edge of the playground next to the music-making device. In November, the second banner went up at Williamsburg park behind the play structure near the swings. The third banner was hung on the fence between Meadowcroft Park and the playground at Lincoln Elementary.
Banners in all the Mt. Lebanon Middle and Elementary Schools
In January 2023, I followed up with the Mt. Lebanon School District (MTLSD). They were already in-the-loop with the back-and-forth emails between the municipality and myself but then I focused on getting the banners planted in all of the local middle and elementary schools. If you’re familiar with Mt. Lebanon, you’ll know we have a lot of elementary schools. So many, that people often identify themselves based on which school district they’re in.
Dr. Marybeth Irvin, the Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education in MTLSD, became my point of contact with this project. For the next few months, I sought out more sponsors for the banners. I had people ordering them online and shipping directly to my house, passing me a check to order on their behalf, and even one sponsor drove to my house to drop theirs off.
On March 29th, I had a full collection for all the schools and dropped them off at the administration building to be put up. They should be put up soon if not already!
Thank you, Sponsors!
I just want to thank everyone who contributed to get these banners up. With each banner costing about $280 total (including tax and shipping), Mt. Lebanon now has nine (9) Point and Play Banners across our community.
Map of Playgrounds with Point-N-Play Banners in Mt. Lebanon
Full List of Sponsors
| Sponsor | Location |
|---|---|
| Mt. Lebanon Moms Network (MLMN) | Foster Elementary School |
| Mt. Lebanon parents of neurodivergent and disabled kids, organized by Michele Napierkowski, with a generous donation from Maria Fazio Wilson | Hoover Elementary School |
| Valerie Fleisher, Mt. Lebanon School Director | Julia Ward Howe Elementary School |
| Lebo Pride | Jefferson Elementary & Middle Schools |
| Valerie Rose, Mt. Lebanon Resident | Lincoln Elementary School & Meadowcroft Park |
| Emily Greb, Mt. Lebanon Resident | Markham Elementary School |
| Keith McGill, Mt. Lebanon Municipal Manager | Mt. Lebanon Park |
| Claire Guth, Mt. Lebanon School Director | Washington Elementary & Mellon Middle Schools |
| Tessa Watkins, Mt. Lebanon Resident | Williamsburg Park |
Press
- Abigail Schade Gary, “New Banners Help Autistic Kids Communicate” (Feb. 24, 2023). Mt. Lebanon Magazine.
- Abby Kirkland, “Helping kids Point-N-Play their way to inclusive fun at parks” (Jan. 27, 2023). Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Learn More
- Autism Level UP! – the people behind the banner
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on , and was last reviewed on . Updated content to include the new information about playgrounds in the Mt. Lebanon School District!
