title: Community participation, supports, and barriers of school-age children with and without disabilities.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine patterns of community participation and environmental factors that affect community participation for school-age children with and without disabilities.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional, descriptive, and exploratory study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Parents from the United States and Canada completed the main outcome measure online in their homes or communities.
  
  
  METHODS
  Parents (N=576) reported on their children aged 5 to 17 years with disabilities (n=282) and without disabilities (n=294).
  
  
  METHODS
  Not applicable.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Group differences in summary scores and many items were significant (P<.001). Children with disabilities participated less frequently, were less involved, and had less environmental support in the community than children without disabilities. Parents of children with disabilities desired more change in their child's participation than parents of children without disabilities. Effect sizes for summary scores were moderate to very large (n(2)p from .11-.40), with the largest group difference found in environment scores. Overall, the largest group differences in participation were in "unstructured physical activities" and "getting together with other children"-also the 2 areas where parents of children with disabilities most frequently desired change. The largest differences in environmental impact were in physical, social, and cognitive activity demands and availability/adequacy of programs and services.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results provide insights about where greater efforts are needed to support community participation of school-age children with disabilities. Further study with a more diverse sample in terms of race/ethnicity, family income/education levels, and geographic region is needed to determine the extent to which results may be generalized.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA. gary.bedell@tufts.edu
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bedell
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Coster
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Law
authors.forename: Kendra
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liljenquist
authors.forename: Ying-Chia
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Teplicky
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Anaby
authors.forename: Mary Alunkal
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Khetani
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002170:Canada; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012931:Social Environment; D058992:Social Participation; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States