Participation in activities that provide a sense of accomplishment
and enjoyment during childhood and youth helps to foster positive
development into adulthood.1-5 Participation has been shown to be
an indicator of overall health and well-being across the lifespan
and has been described as a key rehabilitation outcome.5-8
However, children with disabilities are often restricted in their
participation.7,9-11 Most research on participation of children with
disabilities has focused on children and youth with cerebral palsy
(CP)1,10-14 and acquired brain injury (ABI).9,15-17 Findings from
this research demonstrate that children with disabilities often
participate in and enjoy a wide range of activities but participate
less frequently than children without disabilities in many of these
activities. Findings also indicate that children with disabilities are
often more restricted when participating in the community than at
home or at school.