Determinants of participation in family and recreational activities of young children with cerebral palsy

Abstract

Supporting children's adaptive behaviour, family ecology, and access to community recreational programmes may foster participation in family and recreational activities for young children with CP. Implications for Rehabilitation Participation in family and recreational activities for young children with CP is complex and influenced by child, family and environmental factors. Practitioners are encouraged to support children's adaptive behaviour and access to community programs and family relationships, involvement in community activities and expectations of their children. Optimizing gross motor function for children who have limitations in self-mobility may enhance their participation in family and recreational activities. For children with a good prognosis for walking, providing services perceived by parents to meet their children's needs may enhance children's enjoyment of participation.

Environmental impact on young children's participation in home‐based activities

“…The impact of children's environments on their health and well‐being, including their participation in everyday activities, is well documented . Although recent studies suggest disparities in caregiver perceptions of environmental support, this study contributes new knowledge about the impact of perceived environmental support on the participation of young children across a broader age range (0–5y) and abilities . Main study findings confirm the hypothesis that caregiver perceptions of home environmental support mediate the relationship between child and/or family factors and home involvement.…”

“…This may have been due to timing data collection during summer months, when time use at home may fluctuate owing to improved weather conditions and/or variable family schedules. Alternatively, children's participation frequency may vary during early childhood and/or according to the child's functional severity, as has been shown recently in a similar study involving young children with cerebral palsy . Finally, the cross‐sectional design precludes conclusions about cause–effect relationships between concurrent child and family factors, environmental support, and home participation.…”

“…While knowledge about context‐specific disparities in children's participation may help to identify clients who could benefit from intervention, there is a need for improved knowledge about correlates of young children's participation to inform clinical decisions about how to focus interventions towards improved participation in a select activity or setting. Previous studies have primarily modeled the impact of child, family, and environmental factors on the participation of school‐aged children and young children with physical disabilities . Child factors commonly modeled are disability according to diagnosis or service use, age, and functional abilities according to the severity of a child's impairment(s) (e.g.…”

“…motor abilities) . To our knowledge, studies rarely model the effect of children's task performance, although it has been associated with children's participation and is amenable to intervention. Family factors commonly modeled include socioeconomic status indicated by income and/or education.…”

School‐based physical therapy services and student functional performance at school

“…Unlike other research where services have not been found to predict outcomes in children with CP, in this study we did find significant relationships, perhaps because of the detailed collection of services provided. The significant school‐based services to the student (with the student present) reported accounted for approximately 4% to 14% of the variance in the SFA outcomes, determined by subtracting the variance accounted for by the covariates from the variance with covariates and services.…”