Interactive sensory garden set to open for people with disabilities and special needs

CLINTON, SC (WOLO) — The South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new interactive sensory garden at the Whitten Center in Clinton.

The $730,000 project will include a fountain, outdoor musical instruments, swing benches with wheelchair capabilities, water misters for hot days, and other interactive features.

Constance Holloway is DDSN’s State Director and says oftentimes assumptions are made that people with disabilities or special needs can’t participate in certain things.

“And this allows them to show that they are people just like we are. That they have the magnitude and capability to be able to do those types of things. And it’s just wonderful to get out and enjoy nature, and to do the things that the interactive sensory park will have them to do,” says Holloway.

Linda Lee has also helped with the project — that officials say is fifteen years in the making.

Lee says the interactive features will reach different senses for residents, including her daughter Chrissy, who has lived at the Whitten Center for the past 38 years.

“Just everything we can think of to make them enjoy life, and to make others enjoy life with them. So that’s what it’s about. And we want the community to be able to come out and enjoy it because there are residents in the community who have some of the same needs as our children, and so they can come out and visit, and will make us a more integral part of the community,” says Lee.

Eddie Miller is chairman for the DDSN.

“Our job is to help those that cannot help themselves. That’s what we will do at South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs. Never forget that,” Miller says.

The Whitten Center, which is also celebrating its 103rd birthday, says the garden will be complete in February 2024.