Participation of children on the autism spectrum in home, school, and community

Abstract

Background: Children on the autism spectrum participate less frequently, and in a narrowerrange of activities, than their nonautistic peers, but little is known about exact participation pat-terns across contexts or how this is perceived by caregivers. This study aimed to document pat-terns of participation and caregiver views with regard to frequency and intensity of activities.Method: Caregivers of children on the spectrum aged 5 (n = 90) and 9–10 years ( n = 128)completed the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth for home, school,and community. Caregivers reported on frequency of child's participation, level of involvement,and caregivers' desire for change in participation patterns.Results: Item‐level analyses revealed similar patterns of participation across home, school,and community for both cohorts with some small age‐appropriate differences. Caregivers gener-ally desired increased diversity, frequency, and involvement in activities but a decreased use ofelectronics (computers, games, TV, and DVDs).Conclusion: The possibility of autism‐specific participation patterns could inform futureinterventions aimed at enhancing social inclusion. This warrants further investigation throughmultiinformant designs that seek the perspectives of the child and caregivers.