Year-end Sale % OFF 
Abstract
Abstract This article discusses the findings of an empirical study, the first to investigate Taiwanese and Hong Kong parents’ perspectives on their disabled children’s play. The study employed an online survey to explore parents’ views on (a) the value of play for their child; (b) their child’s experiences of play (e.g. where and with whom they play); c) what, if any, barriers their child experiences in/to play. Our analysis shows that disabled children living in Taiwan and Hong Kong face many of the same barriers to play as disabled children elsewhere (e.g. in the West), but that these barriers have distinct ‘local formations’ resulting from, for example, high-density urban-living, family-based welfare systems, prevailing gendered family roles/relations, persistent social stigma towards disabled people and their families and intense valuing of academic achieve ment within Chinese cultures. We present this article as an original contribution to Disabled Children’s Childhood Studies, to Global Disability Studies and Play Studies. The article concludes by mapping an agenda for further research into access to and inclusion in play for disabled children living in East Asia.
Highlights
Research into disabled children’s access to and inclusion in play is scarce outside the West
The field is globalizing in its perspectives, thanks largely to non-Western scholars developing the field in ‘glocal’ ways (Goodley 2011). When it comes to disabled childhoods – and disabled children’s experiences of play in particular – our understanding of how they are shaped by different cultural constructions of disability and childhood, plus varied social and family structures around the world, is far from complete (Grech 2013)
These findings demonstrate that disabled children living in Taiwan and Hong Kong face many of the same barriers to play as disabled children elsewhere, but that these barriers have distinct ‘local formations’
Summary
Research into disabled children’s access to and inclusion in play is scarce outside the West. The Concluding Observations of the crc Committee on China 2005 make no specific mention of disabled children’s ‘right to play’, but advise the HK government to reduce the competitiveness of the education system and promote the right of all children to play and leisure, recommending that parents be appropriately ‘sensitised’. They proposed that parents be sensitised about these matters They recommended that the TW government implements the recommendations of the crpd report, collect accurate, disaggregated data about disabled children, ensure that they receive appropriate services and have access to meaningful play. They highlighted the need for more playgrounds in urban locations, emphasising that these should be for children of all abilities
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
