Egilson Snæfrídur T, Jakobsdóttir Gunnhildur, Ólafsson Kjartan, Leósdóttir Thóra
a Faculty of Social and Human Sciences , University of Iceland , Reykjavík , Iceland.
b Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Department , University Hospital of Iceland , Reykjavík , Iceland.
Scand J Occup Ther. 2017 May;24(3):187-196. doi: 10.1080/11038128.2016.1198419. Epub 2016 Jun 22.
This study explored parent perspectives of participation patterns and environmental supports and barriers for high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) within their communities compared with a group of children without ASD.
The Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth was used to gather online data from parents of 99 children with ASD and 241 children without ASD. Mann-Whitney U test and chi-square tests were used to explore differences between groups and Cohen's d was calculated to examine effect sizes.
Significant differences between children with and without ASD were observed for all participation and environment summary scores. Children with ASD participated less frequently, were less involved, and their parents were less satisfied with their child's participation in community-based activities. Parents of children with ASD also identified fewer supports for their child's participation and more environmental barriers than other parents.
Children with ASD participated less in community-related activities than children without ASD as perceived by their parents. Barriers limiting community participation included features of the social and physical environment and limited resources.
Occupational therapists should focus on decreasing environmental challenges in their efforts to facilitate participation of children with ASD in the community.
本研究探讨了与一组无自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的儿童相比，自闭症谱系障碍高功能儿童在其社区中的参与模式、环境支持及障碍的家长观点。
使用儿童和青少年参与及环境测量工具从99名自闭症谱系障碍儿童的家长和241名无自闭症谱系障碍儿童的家长那里收集在线数据。采用曼-惠特尼U检验和卡方检验来探讨组间差异，并计算科恩d值以检验效应大小。
在所有参与和环境汇总得分方面，观察到自闭症谱系障碍儿童与无自闭症谱系障碍儿童之间存在显著差异。自闭症谱系障碍儿童参与频率较低，参与度较低，且他们的家长对孩子参与社区活动的满意度较低。与其他家长相比，自闭症谱系障碍儿童的家长也指出孩子参与活动时获得的支持较少，环境障碍较多。
家长认为，自闭症谱系障碍儿童比无自闭症谱系障碍儿童参与社区相关活动的程度更低。限制社区参与的障碍包括社会和物理环境的特征以及资源有限。
职业治疗师在努力促进自闭症谱系障碍儿童参与社区活动时，应专注于减少环境挑战。
