Primary objective: To further validate the Child and Adolescent Scale of Participation (CASP) for children and youth with acquired brain injuries and other disabling conditions. Research design and methods: A cross-sectional design was used. Data were collected on 313 children and youth, aged 3–22, with and without disabling conditions. Children with acquired brain injuries (ABI) were the largest group (56%). Cronbach's alpha, factor analyses and Rasch analyses were used to examine internal scale consistency and structure. Correlation analyses were conducted to examine associations between CASP scores and scores that reflect extent of impairment and impact of environmental barriers. Independent t-tests or analyses of variance were used to examine mean differences in CASP scores in relation to sex, age and disability groups. Main outcomes and results: Children without disabilities had significantly greater extent of participation (higher CASP scores) than children with disabilities. Greater extent of participation was associated with lesser extent of impairment and environmental barriers. Evidence of internal consistency and internal structure validity was demonstrated. Factor analyses showed that items from similar domains loaded onto one of three factors and a large (63%) proportion of variance was explained. Rasch analyses revealed essentially one unidimensional construct. The item difficulty order closely matched the expected pattern of life situations that children would find more to less challenging to participate in. Conclusions: Findings were similar to prior research and suggested that the CASP is a promising new measure of participation. However, study design features limit generalizations and definitive conclusions that can be made. Future research is needed to assess the ability of the CASP to detect change over time and to include a larger and more diverse sample.

Primary objective: To determine the nature and extent of participation in home, school and community life in children and youth with acquired brain injuries (ABI) and identify factors associated with their participation. Research design: Cross-sectional survey. Methods and procedures: Measures of participation, environment and child factors were completed by family caregivers. Data were obtained on 60 children and youth with acquired brain injuries up to 6.7 years post-discharge from one inpatient rehabilitation programme in the USA. Descriptive, correlation and regression analyses were conducted. Main outcomes and results: Children were most restricted in peer social-play, structured community activities and managing daily routines. Eighty-two per cent of the variance accounted for in participation scores was explained by discharge self-care and post-discharge child and environmental factor scores. Conclusions: Results suggest that greater efforts are needed to address social participation in children and youth with ABI. Information about functional activity at discharge and child and environmental factors may provide insight into post-discharge levels of participation and service needs.

Objective: To describe the development and content of a follow-up survey designed to monitor needs and outcomes of children and youth with acquired brain injuries (ABI) and their families after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. Preliminary fin

OBJECTIVE. To understand parents’ perspectives about the strategies they use to promote social participation of their school-age children with acquired brain injuries (ABI) in home, school, and community life. METHOD. A descriptive research design employing a semistructured interview format was used. Interviews were conducted in the homes of 16 families of school-age children with ABI discharged up to 7 years earlier from one inpatient rehabilitation program. Data were examined using content and constant-comparison analyses. RESULTS. Parents needed time to allow the recovery process to unfold for themselves and their children and developed strategies that fit into or assisted with managing family routines. Over time parents developed insight into the activity demands and their child’s potential success to participate in desired activities. Based on these insights, parents used “anticipatory planning,” which involved previewing upcoming events and activities and using strategies to promote positive and prevent negative experiences for their children. Specific strategies that parents used to promote social participation were classified into three categories: Creating opportunities, teaching skills, and regulating cognitive and behavioral function. CONCLUSIONS. Understanding how families use and integrate strategies within the context of their daily lives and what factors influence strategy use may provide practitioners with insights needed to support families in promoting their children’s social participation.