Date Presented 04/06/19
A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of public space interventions promoting community engagement for families with children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Findings suggest a dearth of research and limited evidence supporting current effectiveness. Further research and collaboration among OTs, stakeholders, and public institutions are needed to increase opportunities for families' meaningful participation in the community.
Primary Author and Speaker: Holly Romaniak
Additional Authors and Speakers: Elisabeth Hladik, Karla Ausderau
PURPOSE: An important part of daily life for families is community participation in public spaces. Families with a child diagnosed with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) face barriers to accessing public spaces. Limited research has addressed community engagement for these families. Some public settings and institutions have started implementing targeted programming and events for families with children with IDD. While evidence on this topic is limited, the literature points to the need for family community engagement. The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence for the effectiveness of community interventions promoting engagement of families with children with IDD.
DESIGN: We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) to conduct this systematic review.
METHODS: We systematically searched seven databases and relevant references lists. Databases were searched using the keywords: families, children, intellectual disability, developmental disability, community, intervention, and engagement or participation. Filters used were humans, English language, and ages birth to 18 years when appropriate. Inclusion criteria was the existence of a public space intervention in the community with the participation of a family with a child with a diagnosis of IDD within the study. Studies outside of the United States were included. We identified 365 articles. After screening titles and abstracts, 354 articles were excluded with 9 remaining for full-text review. Seven studies were included in this systematic review.
RESULTS: Based on AOTA guidelines we included one Level II article, two Level III articles, and four Level IV articles. We identified three thematic subgroups: family accessibility to public spaces, community support for families, and community engagement through other interventions. The theme of family participation in public spaces was further divided into social participation, financial participation, and physical participation. Limited evidence supports the effectiveness of community interventions promoting engagement of families with children with IDD.
CONCLUSION: From this systematic review, we found a limited quantity of studies and evidence to support that community interventions are effective at promoting engagement in public spaces for families with children with IDD. Community stakeholders are implementing adaptations and specialized programming in response to the needs of families with children with IDD without collaboration of researchers and trained healthcare professionals. This systematic review should be interpreted as a call to action to community stakeholders and researchers in occupational science to collaborate for the well-being of the community. Occupational therapists (OTs) should consider whole family community engagement when working with children with IDD and develop standardized assessments to accurately capture the outcome of family engagement in public spaces. Consultation with public institutions that are already implementing their own public space interventions in the community is another opportunity for OTs to support community engagement for families. OTs can facilitate collaboration with libraries, playgrounds, restaurants, recreation centers, and movie theaters to develop and assess new, accessible programming addressing the needs of families with children with IDD.
References
Andrews, J., Falkmer, M., & Girdler, S. (2015). Community participation interventions for children and adolescents with a neurodevelopmental intellectual disability: A systematic review. Disability and Rehabilitation, 37(10), 825–833. https://doi.org/10.3109/09638288.2014.944625
Lim, C. Y., Law, M., Khetani, M., Pollock, N., & Rosenbaum, P. (2016). Participation in Out-of-Home Environments for Young Children With and Without Developmental Disabilities. OTJR: Occupation Participation and Health, 36(3), 112–125. https://doi.org/10.1177/1539449216659859
Mulligan, S., Rais, P., Steele-Driscoll, J., & Townsend, S. (2013). Examination of a museum program for children with autism. Journal of Museum Education, 38(3), 308–319. https://doi.org/10.1080/10598650.2013.11510783
Tint, A., Maughan, A. L., & Weiss, J. A. (2017). Community participation of youth with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 61(2), 168–180. https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.12311
