Influence of child's disability on encountering environmental barriers to participation of children with cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is included a group of non-progressive disturbances that occur in developing brain and led to permanent movement disorders. Although Children''s participation is influenced by their movement disorders، environmental factors can be considered as barriers or facilitators to their participation. This study was aimed to investigate the influence of child''s disability on encountering environmental barriers to participation of children with cerebral palsy.

Seventy five parents of children with CP were participated in this study. They aged 5-12 years to include for this research. The Craig hospital inventory of environmental factors (CHIEF) and personal characteristic questionnaires were used to collect the data. Also children''s gross motor، manual ability and cognitive level were asked from parents by researcher.

Barriers to participation most commonly reported by parents found in services and assistance and policies subscales. Cognitive، gross motor functioning and manual ability levels were related to the parent perceived barriers.

Findings from this study indicated that the presence of multiple environmental barriers to participate these children in activities. With low function all children encountered more barriers. We can enhance participation by minimizing these barriers and providing more facilitators.