Community participation and environment of children with and without autism spectrum disorder: parent perspectives
Sammanfattning
Aim: This study explored parent perspectives of participation patterns and environmental supports
and barriers for high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) within their
communities compared with a group of children without ASD.
Method: The Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth was used to gather
online data from parents of 99 children with ASD and 241 children without ASD. Mann–Whitney
U test and chi-square tests were used to explore differences between groups and Cohen’s d was
calculated to examine effect sizes.
Results: Significant differences between children with and without ASD were observed for all participation
and environment summary scores. Children with ASD participated less frequently, were
less involved, and their parents were less satisfied with their child’s participation in communitybased
activities. Parents of children with ASD also identified fewer supports for their child’s participation
and more environmental barriers than other parents.
Conclusion: Children with ASD participated less in community-related activities than children
without ASD as perceived by their parents. Barriers limiting community participation included features
of the social and physical environment and limited resources.
Significance: Occupational therapists should focus on decreasing environmental challenges in
their efforts to facilitate participation of children with ASD in the community.