Barriers to Play and Recreation for Children and Young People with Disabilities

Abstract

The work of the LUDI network, established and funded by COST in 2014, is underpinned by a commitment to the right of children and young persons with disabilities to recreation and play, as stated in international Conventions on the Rights of the Child and Rights of Persons with Disabilities. These human rights conventions place signatories under an obligation to put in place an appropriate set of entitlements, actions and resources to ensure their implementation. Importantly, the LUDI network recognises the importance of play and recreation for children with disabilities in and of itself -that is, play for its own sake -and its centrality to children and young people's overall well-being and quality of life. Play and recreation is more than an enabler or a tool in relation to social, educational, physical and psychological development and health promotion/maintenance. Play has intrinsic value to all children.This book examines the environmental barriers to play and recreation in everyday worlds of children and young persons with disabilities as identified within current literature. We commence with a brief overview of the work of the LUDI network, a COST TD Action TD1309 project, to provide context. We then provide a brief overview of the interdisciplinary nature of play studies (Henricks, 2008). We consider how play has changed in recent decades and what is known about play and recreation for children and young persons with disabilities. This is followed by a closer examination of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989), Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008) and General Comments 9 (2007) and 17 (2013) as they relate to play and recreation for children and young persons with disabilities. Since disability is a contested concept, we next outline our definition of disability and justify our use of the International Classification of Function, Disability and Health (ICF; WHO, 2002), International Classification of Function, Disability and Health-Children and Youth (ICF-CY; WHO, 2007) and associated terminology. Finally, we provide a detailed narrative review of existing research and knowledge surrounding play for children with disabilities within four key locations/spaces. Play and recreation does not occur in a 'vacuum ' (Meires, 2007); it happens 'somewhere' in a physical, social and cultural setting (Barron, 2013). The locations where children with disabilities engage in play and the influences on their choice of location and activity have only recently begun to be explored, and there is need for further research in this area. Children of course play wherever they are (NCB, 2002). Reading across literature in Children's and Childhood Studies and the reports by organisations such as the National Children's Bureau (UK) and Play England, four key locations for play, each broadly defined, can nevertheless be identified as important venues for children's play: the home, educational settings, the built environment and the natural environment. In this book, we focus on each of these lo...

Preface

“…The book "Evaluation of children's play: Tools and methods" presented a review of instruments and procedures that were internationally available to assess play (Besio, Bulgarelli, & Stancheva-Popkostadinova, 2018). The book "Barriers to Play and Recreation for Children and Young People with Disabilities: Exploring Environmental Factors" was meant to report about the literature dealing with barriers to play in everyday contexts (Barron et al, 2016). Finally, "Users' Needs Report on Play for Children with Disabilities: Parents' and children's views" was a report on the view of children with disabilities, their families and representatives of associations in the field about the play needs (Allodi Westling & Zappaterra, 2019).…”

1 Theoretical models for enabling play from a child-centred perspective

“…Given that all European states have ratified this convention, it is important that we understand its implications and know what is recommended to ensure children's rights are met. In other reviews of play and the rights of the child by our LUDI colleagues, we introduced some key conventions, some key articles within them, and some general comments that give a fuller overview (see Barron et al, 2017, andMoore, 2018 for a more detailed overview). However, for the purposes of this chapter, we are focusing on two articles in particular that are of interest for those of us who want to promote a child-centred, child's participation approach to working with children with disabilities, and enabling play: Article 12 and Article 31.…”

Play for disabled Children in Taiwan and Hong Kong: parent perspectives

“…For a detailed narrative review of research into barriers to play for disabled children within the social environment we recommend Barron et al (2017). In what follows we provide a succinct summary of existing knowledge.…”