Exploring participation in family activities among Serbian children with cerebral palsy and children with typical development: diversity, frequency, children's presence, and engagement

Purpose This study aimed to characterize the participation in family activities in two groups of children: children with cerebral palsy (CP group) and children with typical development (TD group), with regard to diversity, frequency, children's presence, and engagement. Method The convenience sample of this descriptive and comparative cross-sectional study conducted in Serbia included 48 children with CP and 74 children with TD, aged 7-12 years. Parents completed the Child Participation in Family Activities (Child-PFA) questionnaire. Mann-Whitney U test was used for data analysing. Results Children with CP experienced less diverse and less frequent family activities compared to children with TD, with more pronounced differences in the diversity of family activities than in their frequency. In the occurring family activities, children with CP were present in a comparable proportion as children with TD. Once in an activity, children with CP were less engaged. Conclusions Our results confirmed that children with CP do not have the same opportunities to participate and be engaged in everyday family life activities as children with TD. Greater efforts are needed to address these differences and facilitate access to and engagement of children with CP in a variety of family activities.

Automated summary

The study found that children with cerebral palsy (CP) have less diverse and less frequent participation in family activities compared to children with typical development (TD), although they are also less engaged during the activities.