‘If I had a friend in a wheelchair’: children's thoughts on disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine what notions there are among ordinary preschool children and schoolchildren about physically handicapped children using wheelchairs. Forty-eight children-16 children of preschool age (half boys, half girls, aged around 6), 16 children in primary school class 2 (half boys, half girls, aged around 8) and 16 children in class 4 (half boys, half girls, aged around 8)-constituted the investigated group. The method used was a combination of drawings produced by the children themselves serving as a projective image, interview questions in connection with the drawings and a self-assessment scale, based on Osgood's semantic differential technique. The results showed that most children had favourable attitudes towards a child in a wheelchair. They were willing to include the disabled child in their games and recreational activities, and they considered that the disabled child would have many friends and a high self-esteem. However, they saw real obstacles for the disabled child both in play situations and in other environmental settings. No tangible differences between the sexes could be found; however, differences by age were present. The results were discussed with regard to earlier research and topics for further research are suggested.

To be or not to be – able to dance: integrated dance and children’s perceptions of dance ability and disability

“…However, it also provides support to the findings of Tamm and Prellwitz (2001) who found that children between the ages 6-10 perceived children sitting in a wheelchair to be injured.…”

“…Moreover, he began playing frequently with Dillon. Perhaps consistent with Tamm and Prellwitz (2001) Dillon perceived Logan as someone who was hurt but got better since he did not need his walker any more.…”

“…Most students agreed with the approach for educating students with a disability followed by their school. Tamm and Prellwitz (2001) investigated Swedish children between the ages of 6-10 (most of whom did not have previous contact with a person with a disability) to learn of their perceptions of children who use wheelchairs. They found that children perceived disability to be a motor dysfunction.…”

Attitudes Toward Individuals with Disabilities: The Effects of Contact with Different Disability Types

“…This has been supported with adults (Hunt and Hunt 2000;Seo andChen 2009), adolescents (McDougall et al 2004) and young children (Panek and Smith 2005). However, Tamm and Prellwitz (2001) found that females and males were about equal in their views toward individuals with disabilities. Attitudes toward individuals with disabilities can vary as a function of many variables, such as culture, demographics, type of disability, age, and gender (Deal 2003).…”

Comparing participation in out of school activities between children with visual impairments, children with hearing impairments and typical peers

“…It is recommended that participation among children with hearing/visual impairments should be further evaluated in adolescence as well. In the case that limited participation in early childhood is more restricted in adolescence, special efforts should be made by families, educators and decision makers to minimize social isolation and passive life style, and maximize involvement in activities in order to enhance child's development and quality of life King, Cathers, Miller Polgar, MacKinnon, & Havens, 2000;Tamm & Prellwitz, 2001).…”