Overview

Abstract (English)

Between 5 and 15% of all children in Canada live with various kinds of disabilities that affect their motor, cognitive, communication and social functioning. Participation in a range of social, recreational and vocational activities is an essential component and an important determinant of a person’s health and well-being. However, children with disabilities may be limited in participating in a range of activities because of a medical condition, impairment and/or a characteristic of their physical and social environment, with adverse effects on their physical and emotional health as well as their social development. The research base to understand the extent and causes of this situation is limited, and has been confined mainly to children with more obvious ‘physical’ disabilities (e.g., cerebral palsy) and little is known about participation of children with more ‘hidden’ disabilities that primarily affect cognition, learning, communication and socialization. This project will analyze data from a national dataset (the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) children dataset from Statistics Canada), to: 1. understand the patterns of participation in leisure, recreational and sporting activities in various settings (school, community and home) among children with neurodevelopmental disorders and disabilities (NDD/D) comprising a range of subtypes and of different severity; 2. understand how these patterns differ across disability types; and 3. examine the child, family and socio-environmental determinants of participation among children with NDD/D and their interrelationships. The results from this project will allow us to document the nature of participation in different activities among Canadian children across the spectrum of disability types; make recommendations for social and educational policy makers; and to provide the scientific basis for developing interventions for children with disabilities.

Abstract (French)

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