title: Play or hard work: unpacking well-being at preschool.
abstract: Well-being or quality of life is thought to give a more accurate picture of the impact a condition has on day-to-day functioning than traditional outcome measures. This study sought to examine the relationship between engagement in play and well-being for preschool children with and without developmental coordination disorder (DCD). A quasi-experimental design was used with two independent groups of preschool children aged 4-6 years with (n=32) and without (n=31) probable DCD. Play skills were assessed using the Play Observation Scale based on 30min of videotape of free-play at preschool. Well-being was assessed using a parent-proxy version of the Revised Children Quality of Life Questionnaire (KINDL(R)). Spearman rho correlations were performed to examine the relationship between play and well-being. Well-being at preschool was significantly lower for the children in the DCD group however overall well-being was not significantly different. Engagement in type of social play (solitary, parallel or group) was found to predict well-being for the typically developing children. For the children with DCD, engagement in group play was not associated with well-being. An explanation for this difference may be that children with DCD may not experience free-play at preschool as "play" but rather as hard work. Further research is needed to determine why children with DCD experience lower well-being at preschool than their peers and to investigate children's perceptions of free-play. This may enable teachers and therapists to better support children with DCD in the preschool environment.
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC 4558, QLD, Australia. Electronic address: akennedy@usc.edu.au.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kennedy-Behr
authors.affiliation: Autism CRC Ltd, Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders, The University of Queensland, St Lucia 4072, QLD, Australia; Division of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia 4072, QLD, Australia. Electronic address: srodger@autismcrc.com.au.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rodger
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Kellogg College, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. Electronic address: Sharon.mickan@phc.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mickan
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003479:Curriculum; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D009048:Motor Skills; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D010379:Peer Group; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010988:Play and Playthings / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012574:Schools; D012649:Self Concept; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Children; Developmental coordination disorder; Play; Quality of life; Well-being