AIM The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties (reliability and validity) of the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth (PEM-CY).METHOD The PEM-CY examines participation frequency, extent of involvement, and desire for change in sets of activities typical for the home, school, or community. Items in the 'Environment' section examine perceived supports and barriers to participation within each setting. Data were collected via an online survey from caregivers of children and young people, aged 5 to 17 years, with and without a range of different disabilities, residing in the USA and Canada. Caregivers were eligible for inclusion if (1) they identified themselves as a parent or legal guardian of the child who was the focus of the survey; (2) they were able to read English; and (3) their child was between 5 and 17 years old at the time of enrolment.RESULTS Data were obtained from 576 respondents. About half were parents of children with disabilities and a little more than half were from Canada. Child mean age was 11 years (SD 3.1y); 54% were male and 46% were female. Internal consistency was moderate to good (0.59 and above) across the different scales. Test-retest reliability was moderate to good (0.58 and above) across a 1-to 4-week period. There were large and significant differences between the groups with and without disabilities on all participation and environment scales. Although there were some significant age differences, they did not follow a consistent pattern. INTERPRETATIONResults support the use of the PEM-CY for population-level studies to gain a better understanding of the participation of children and young people and the impact of environmental factors on their participation.

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.

Aim The aims of the study were to (1) build new item banks for a revised version of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) with four content domains: Daily Activities, Mobility, Social/Cognitive, and Responsibility and 2) use post-hoc simulations based on the combined normative and disability calibration samples to assess the accuracy and precision of the PEDI computerized adaptive tests (PEDI-CAT) in comparison to the administration of all items. Methods Parents of typically developing children (n=2,205) and parents of children with disabilities (n=703) between ages 0 to 21 years, stratified by age and gender participated by responding to PEDI-CAT surveys through an existing Internet Opt-in Survey Panel in the USA and by computer tablets in clinical sites. Results Confirmatory factor analyses supported four unidimensional content domains. Scores using the real data post-hoc demonstrated excellent accuracy (ICCs ≥0.95) with the full item banks. Simulations using item parameter estimates demonstrated relatively small bias in the 10- and 15-item CAT versions; error was generally higher at the scale extremes. Interpretation These results suggest the PEDI-CAT can be an accurate and precise assessment of children’s daily functioning at all functional levels.

Emerging methodological research suggests that the World Wide Web (“Web”) is an appropriate venue for survey data collection, and a promising area for delivering behavioral intervention. However, the use of the Web for research raises concerns regarding sample validity, particularly when the Web is used for recruitment and enrollment. The purpose of this paper is to describe the challenges experienced in two different Web-based studies in which participant misrepresentation threatened sample validity: a survey study and an online intervention study. The lessons learned from these experiences generated three types of strategies researchers can use to reduce the likelihood of participant misrepresentation for eligibility in Web-based research. Examples of procedural/design strategies, technical/software strategies and data analytic strategies are provided along with the methodological strengths and limitations of specific strategies. The discussion includes a series of considerations to guide researchers in the selection of strategies that may be most appropriate given the aims, resources and target population of their studies.

Parents of students with disabilities report that their children are participating less in important school-related activities. Barriers limiting school participation include features of the physical and social environment as well as limited resources.