Help.. do you have a solution for my backyard?

I'm looking for a cheap solution to remedy the problem in my backyard. My lawn has died as my foster son throws the ball all day for our dog (he has severe autism). He also loves water and mud which makes keeping the house clean (and him) very difficult. Anything that can move is out of the question as he will kick it all over the place and make deep holes. I wanted to get kikuyu turf laid but it's not within my financial means atm. Anyone have ideas.. I would be happy to concrete it all (150 sqm).

thanks

can we have a water station and "mud" station and then a grassed section

So just areas divided for his play

Dirty bits further from the house and the grass closer up to the house to capture some of the dirt

I would have thought concrete would cost more than kikuya turf!

If the lawn area is still reasonably level but muddy you could try establishing kikuya as runners.

Buy 5-6 kikuya pieces of turf and pull apart. Plant the individual pieces about 300mm apart and the kikuya will creep and root to fill in the spaces.

Other idea would be to put weed mat down and then about 150mm of bark on top. Although he can kick/pile up the bark he will only go as far as the weedmat.

Thankyou! So excited to be getting some ideas.. I really was stuck. Shall purchase some kikuyu next week.. and will consider keeping an area separate for play too!

Hi Sharene, I also have a son who has autism. He also constantly bounces a ball, although not to a dog, just himself. He also LOVES water and mud.
Maybe you could try to get him to bounce the ball on the driveway, our front yard is fenced so that our son won't run away... so this may not be an option for you.
Maybe you could put soft fall type mulch in one largish strip for your son to throw the ball to the dog?
We have limited our son's water play to a water table, which is always set up in the backyard. I'm trying to teach him to water our garden with a hose, but at the moment it always ends with him getting saturated. He'll get it one day. For the water, how about one of those plastic crates 1/2 filled with bubbly water, or food coloured water, with cups etc... for pouring?
No mud allowed here We put grass down as soon as we moved in here. All garden beds were marked out and if they weren't planted and mulched straight away, they were covered with a thick layer of sugar cane mulch to cover the dirt. Some of the beds are still like this (been in 12mths), we top up the sugar cane mulch when needed... I will put something in them one day!
Even if he loves mud, don't feel bad if you don't let him play in it... plenty of other things could fill this sensory need. I'm sure you have enough to do without the extra mopping and washing involved.
My son also LOVES jumping on a trampoline, maybe this could keep his attention for a bit.
Hopefully you can find out the types of things he likes doing, so that outside time offers a whole lot of different activities. Better for him and the grass
Good luck, and good on you for taking on such a huge task! buzz

Thanks for that. The best thing I ever did for my little one was get a border collie.. he is the best dog and can trust him alone with him, even if R does have a moment and take it out on the dog (have only seen this once). My dog is sooo in love with R bcs he throws the ball for him all the time.
R has a water table but hasn't really taken to it, and has had a trampoline which he never really used in the end.
R atm is filling a salt container (that was over the tap in attempt to stop him turning it on) and pouring it over the fence.. he only does this a little. Good luck with the watering the garden lol, I did think to attempt it. Enough perseverance I'm sure you'll succeed. You sound like you have an ideal setup, hope in a year's time I'm the same.
I agree it is a huge task, but R's parents live close and have him a bit - it's fine with adequate respite. I hope you get enough.. feel free to pm me