Participation Patterns of Israeli Children with and without Autism, and the Impact of Environment

Abstract

Aims

Participation is vital to children’s quality of life, yet it is often limited for those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). An improved understanding of the factors that may support or hinder their participation is important. This study aims to explore the participation patterns of children with and without ASD in the home, school, and community settings, as well as to explore the impact of environmental factors on the participation of children with ASD.

Methods

78 parents of children aged 6–12, attending mainstream educational settings (30 with ASD; 48 without ASD) completed the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth and a demographic questionnaire.

Results

Children with ASD were rated significantly lower than children without ASD in participation, and their parents expressed a greater desire to change their participation while reporting lower overall environmental support. Among the ASD group, significant differences in participation were found across the three settings, with the highest participation scores at home. Environmental factors that support or limit children’s participation were identified.

Conclusions

The results highlight the importance of environmental factors in children’s participation. It is essential to evaluate different environmental settings; identifying the supportive and limiting environmental factors will enhance interventions for children with ASD.

Keywords:

• Autism
• children
• environment
• involvement
• participation frequency

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the schools’ principals and teachers for their support and to the parents of the children who participated in this study, as well as to Ms. Haya Fogel-Grinvald for the statistical consultation.

Authors contributions

Anat Golos is the primary investigator (PI) and the corresponding author. All authors were the researchers and contributed to this paper.

Ethics statement

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (No. 27032018) and the Israeli Ministry of Education (No. 10105).

Consent form

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Not applicable.

Additional information

Funding

This research received no specific support.

Notes on contributors

Anat Golos

Dr. Anat Golos is the Head of Environment, Culture, and Participation in the Community Laboratory in the School of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine at the Hebrew University, Israel. The topics of her research interests are participation, quality of life, and environmental factors in diverse populations in the community.

Shira Vidislavski

Shira Vidislavski was a master's student in the School of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine at the Hebrew University, Israel. She is an occupational therapist in the area of autism.

Dana Anaby

Dr. Dana Anaby is associate professor in the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy at the McGill University, Canada. The topics of her research interests are participation and well-being among children and youth with physical disabilities, with a special focus on leisure participation and the impact of the environment.