"Come on over to my house and play computer games."…
"I have fun playing on my baseball team."…
"At school, I really like playing tag with my friends at recess."…
"I like hanging out with my friends, and just doing nothing much."

PARTICIPATION! Every child's goal

Law, M., & King, G. (2000, Fall). Participation! Every child's goal. Today's Kids in Motion, 1, 10-12.

These are typical statements to hear from an active child, and they focus on one of the most important aspects of growing up: the desire and ability of childhood and adolescence.

Children grow and develop through participation in many different activities, from playing with friends, reading and colouring, to sports and extracurricular activities at school. There are many factors surrounding a child, the family and the environment in which they live that have the potential to influence participation in everyday activities. For example, whether a child lives in a big city or in a rural area will have important influence on the types of activities that are available and that they are able to participate in.

What is participation?

Participation can mean many things. For example, health experts, specifically The World Health Organization, define participation as "the nature and extent of a person's involvement in life situations" and includes the activities of personal maintenance, mobility, social relationships, education, leisure, spirituality and community life.

Participation in activities is the context in which children form friendships, develop skills and competencies, express creativity, achieve mental and physical health, and determine meaning and purpose in life.

Insert: Josh Vandervies participates in many sports, including the discus throw.(All photos courtesy of Sarnia and District Children's Treatment Centre)

For children, participation in day-to-day formal and informal activities is a vital part of their development.By "formal" activities we mean those that are structured (i.e., involve rules and a coach, leader or instructor) and require some degree of prior planning. Some examples of the activities would be music or art lessons organized sports, youth groups, etc.By "informal" we mean those activities that children choose to do for fun, either on their own (like reading or doing puzzles) or with others (like playing outside at their own initiative).

Disabilities and Participation

Participation enables children to understand the expectations of society and gain the physical and social skills needed to function and flourish in their homes and communities. Children with disabilities are clearly at risk for lower participation in day-to-day activities. In addition, the participation of children and youth with disabilities is known to decrease as children grow up; by adulthood, participation is often severely restricted.

Unfortunately, people who are unable to participate frequently face social isolation and lower life satisfaction. We know that satisfaction with activities is an important predictor of life satisfaction among adults with disabilities and is associated with adjustment and well-being. In other words, participation has tremendous impact on people's lives and their quality of life.

What do we know about the factors influencing participation for children and adolescents with disabilities? Initially, most people focus on factors "within" the child, such as a child's physical, cognitive or communication skills, and their preference for particular activities. However, there are other environmental and family-related factors that may be even more important in shaping a child's participation. For example, parents' overall health or their activity preferences may have a significant effect on their child's participation. In the same way, availability of a supportive community with accessible facilities and activities can result in more participation opportunities.

Insert: Jordan Williamson is a proud member of the Sarnia Ice Hawks sledge hockey team.

Studies by Canadian childcare experts indicate the importance of these outside factors. One recent study, for example, tried to discover factors which presented substantial challenges to the participation of special needs children in typical day-to-day activities of childhood. Contrary to the researchers' expectations, families in the study did not identify child-related factors such as diagnosis or restricted physical functions as the most important factors in determining their child's ability to participate in daily activities, but cited environmental situations, particularly social and institutional factors (for example, social attitudes about disability, institutional policies, choice, information, program support) as the most significant barriers.

Attitudes and ignorance

Although many physical barriers were identified, the families' experience was that it was attitudes or lack of knowledge that prevented these barriers from being changed, not lack of technology.

In another study, the most frequent problems raised by both teachers and parents of children with disabilities related to participation were mobility, self-care, written work and play skills. Mobility in school and community locations was the most significant problem across the age range.

Learning more about participation

Although we do not know exactly what factors have the most influence on participation for children with disabilities, research has provided information about what may be important (See Factors, below): We know that the level of participation of children with disabilities in every-day activities (both formal and informal) is lower than that of other children without disabilities, and that the scope of their activities is limited. We also know that these differences in level of participation increase in adolescence.Experts believe that the pattern of restricted participation starts in childhood, so this is the best time to understand the factors and processes at work. This is also the time to intervene - before patterns of lower participation are ingrained.

Insert: Courtney Beatty, pictured with Jessica Horricks, enjoys horseback riding.

The good news is that work is being done in this area. As just one example, the CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research at Hamilton, Ontario's McMaster University is taking part in a three-year study on participation. The study will examine the factors within children, their families and environments that affect children's overall level of participation, and how the influence of these factors changes over time. It is our hope that this study will improve our knowledge of participation and have the potential to lead to new programs and policies to enhance the participation of children with disabilities in the everyday activities of childhood.

References available upon request.

Mary Law is with the CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON. Gillian King, also with CanChild Centre, is with the Thames Valley Children's Development Centre in London, ON.