Family Inclusion in the News

NEW: Growing Up Boulder Family Inclusion Calendar!

Growing Up Boulder is thrilled to announce a new calendar of events for families of children experiencing disability!  Through Growing Up Boulder's work, parents of children experiencing disabilities in Boulder have repeatedly requested a "one stop shop" to find inclusive events.  Growing Up Boulder's Family Inclusion Coordinator has now created this "one stop shop."  Please contact katie @growingupboulder.org) if your organization would like to add events to the calendar or to let us know how the calendar is working for your family.

View All Projects

Boulder Police Department Autism Awareness Decal Program

Boulder police introduce 'autism decals' for clarity. These decals, if placed on vehicles or homes in the City of Boulder, will alert officers that someone associated with the vehicle or the home may be autistic. This helps officers better understand certain behaviors with the goal of creating a safe and secure scene for all:

1. Pulling away from an officer who might need to redirect someone: Often misinterpreted as resistance.
2. Sudden moves or unpredictable or unexpected movement:  Often misinterpreted as a threat. ​
   
3. Lack of eye contact: Often misinterpreted as reluctance to    engaged with the officer, based on the reason for the contact.
   
4. ​Lack of verbal response to questions by officer: Often misinterpreted as unwillingness to cooperate

For more information, go tot the Boulder Police Department's website. The following short video provides an overview of the program.

30th Street Improvement Plan

Growing Up Boulder staff collaborated with the Boulder’s Transportation and Mobility Department and families living in San Juan del Centro and the Orchard Grove Manufactured Home Community. Both are affordable housing communities associated with the Family Learning Center.  Over two sessions, families completed a walk audit, a visual preference survey, and participated in conversations with Growing Up Boulder and City staff about what they would like to see in reimagining 30th Street. Young people and their caregivers overwhelmingly felt that 30th Street is a busy, car-dominated street and not friendly to children, youth, and non-car users.  Safety is their greatest concern. Their recommendations were for more beauty, nature, walkable places to gather and eat, and safety measures for pedestrians and bike riders. ​

Learn More

Civic Area Phase 2 Project (Part 1)

Growing Up Boulder partnered with Boulder Parks and Recreation and 11 Boulder High School’s National Art Honor Society (NAHS) students to gather youth recommendations for the future Civic Area space. Growing Up Boulder facilitated a walk audit to understand how teens currently use and feel in the space, and then over several months, artists sketched and wrote about what they most wanted to see in the reimagined space.  In April, students shared their draft plans with city staff, community members, and other decision-makers and exhibited their final works in May.  The exhibit, “Young Artists Envision Boulder’s Future Civic Area'' showcases their work through August 2024 at the main Boulder Public Library. The project was featured in the Daily Camera.

Read Daily Camera Article

Civic Area Phase 2 Report
File Size:	15237 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

---

---

Placemaking Pioneers

In 2019, Growing Up Boulder embarked upon a year-long process to co-create the
nation's first, printed, bilingual, child-friendly city map.

For people with disabilities, please visit this guide for more information about accessible trails.

---