Functional predictors of school participation by children with disabilities

Abstract

This study examined the functional requirements that significantly predicted participation of US elementary school children with a variety of disabling conditions (N = 266), in seven different school settings: Transportation, Transitions, Regular classroom, Special classroom, Mealtime, Bathroom, and Playground. Performance on a number of setting-relevant tasks was expected to be predictive of meaningful participation in each school environment. Stepwise multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify the order of importance of the relevant variables as well as the smaller set of functional tasks that best predicted children's participation in each setting. The results revealed that successful participation in the different elementary school settings was strongly associated with performance of both physical and cognitive/behavioural activities. Furthermore, each setting had a unique set of predictors, suggesting that some aspects of function are context-specific. Findings from this study may inform therapists about the most relevant areas of function that support social and physical participation of children with disabilities who are included in regular schools.