How I Play: Roles and Relations in the Play Situations of Children with Restricted Mobility

Abstract

Tamm M, Ska È r L. How I play: roles and relations in the play situations of children with restricted mobility. Scand J Occup Ther 2000; 7: 174 ± 182.The purpose of this grounded theory study was to gain knowledge and understanding of how children with restricted mobility play in different play situations. The group investigated consisted of 10 children with restricted mobility, aged from 6 to 12 years, living in northern Sweden. In this study, the child with restricted mobility is de® ned as a child unable to move around without the aid of a wheelchair, walking trolley, crutches or other walking device. The children were interviewed about play and were observed in different play situations. The transcribed interviews and observations were analysed according to the constant comparative method of grounded theory described by Glaser and Strauss (1967). The analysis resulted in a model (How I play, core category) describing the child's relations in different play situations, the factors that gave rise to different types of play and the consequences of the play. The different types of play were: (A) play with friendsÐ (a) interactive play and (b) onlooker play; (B) play alone; and (C) play with adults. Most play came to be placed in categories B and C, that is the children played mostly alone or with adults. The results were discussed on the basis of Mead's theory of identity development and Bronfenbrenner's theory of developmental ecology, that is how children's play in¯uences their development when adults are so often present.

Factors associated with school participation among students with hearing loss

“…Students feel less emotionally secure with hearing peers than with peers who have HL (Stinson, Whitmire, and Kluwin 1996). Children without disabilities have a more dominant role in relationships than children with disabilities (Skär and Tamm 2000), or have a supportive role. Hence, the students in this study may prefer to be grouped with children similar to themselves when such a milieu exists.…”

A Scoping Review of Evidence-Informed Recommendations for Designing Inclusive Playgrounds

“…Considering playground play is largely unstructured, it gives children opportunities to advance their imagination, selfawareness, risk perception, and identity, as well as their social and motor skills (17,18). The diverse play opportunities that can emerge within playgrounds make these spaces a unique setting where children can choose when, where (i.e., in relation to specific equipment), and how to interact with others while playing together or sharing the play space.…”

“…Many playgrounds also lack sensory-based play components that may promote active engagement among children with developmental disabilities, such as tactile play components that offer different textures to touch and manipulate, or musical play components that produce a variety of sounds and vibrations (25,26). These ongoing playground design issues may explain why playgrounds have been identified as landscapes where children with disabilities can end up feeling isolated, excluded from peer interaction, or excluded from the play space entirely (17)(18)(19).…”

“…Children with mobility impairments have expressed that many playground surfaces impede their access to play equipment (18).…”

“…Although playgrounds are designed to provide children with an array of opportunities to engage in different types of play, the designs are frequently informed by normative understandings of children's bodies, mobilities, and abilities that do not adequately account for the presence of childhood disability. The resultant playground designs can create inequitable access to play opportunities and may cause children with disabilities to experience exclusion (17)(18)(19).…”