Participation and Environmental Factors of Children with Physical Disabilities in Taiwan

Abstract

Participation is a critical health and education outcome of children and can be opti- mized by environmental supports. Children with physical disabilities often experience participation restriction and environmental barriers. Research is limited in describing participation in everyday activities of children with physical disabilities and identifying environmental barriers faced by those children in Taiwan. This chapter presents data of 94 children with physical disabilities aged 2–6 years and their families in Taiwan. Children with physical disabilities were primarily children with cerebral palsy (36%) and devel- opmental (motor) delay (34%). Parents completed the Chinese version of Assessment of Preschool Children’s Participation (APCP-C) and the Chinese version of the Child and Adolescent Scale of Environment (CASE-C) by structured interview to assess pattern of participation and impact of environment factors to their children’s daily life. Participation of children with physical disabilities differed on the basis of level of severity, but not age and sex. Parents reported increased impacts of problems with the quality and availability of family and community resources than problems with assistance/attitude supports and physical design and access. The findings provide a profile of children’s pattern of partici- pation and environmental barriers that impact participation in Taiwan. Keywords: