Participation in play and leisure activities of children with cerebral palsy in Rajasthan

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the overall play participation of children with cerebral palsy (CP) aged 9-13 years by measuring what activities they participate in using the Preteen Play Profile (Henry, 2000); and to explore variations in participation in different play categories based on each child’s manual ability, gross motor function, CP distribution and gender. Material and Methodology: A total of 500 surveys were distributed from different centers for CP children using the methods previously described. Of the 500 surveys mailed, 26 were returned to the sender because of the wrong addresses and 186 surveys were sent successfully. Refer to for more information about all the centers participated. Out of 474 surveys successfully sent out to participants, a total of 186 completed surveys were received, yielding an overall return rate of 39.2% for CP children. Over all return rates varied by all centers. CP Children participated in a wide range of indoor activities rather than outdoor activities. Watching television and listening to music was by far the children’s major play activity. Play categories were ranked from highest to lowest in play participation as follows: indoor, creative, social, summer, outdoor, winter, sports and lessons. It was found that children with quadriplegia who are in Levels IV and V on both the MACS and GMFCS are the most at risk groups of decreased play participation. The children’s manual ability and gross motor function were the main predictors of play participation indicating the need for using both classification systems in practice and research. Children of both genders participated in similar play activities but when analyzing separate play categories, females achieved significantly higher scores than males in creative and lessons. Results: CP Children participated in a wide range of indoor activities rather than outdoor activities. Watching television and listening to music was by far the children’s major play activity. Play categories were ranked from highest to lowest in play participation as follows: indoor, creative, social, summer, outdoor, winter, sports and lessons. On the GMFCS scale, play participation was the highest for children in levels II and the lowest at levels IV/V while on the MACS, participation was highest in Level II and lowest in Levels IV/V. Children with quadriplegia participated in fewer activities than those with either hemiplegia or diplegia/triplegia (p=.007). Children of both genders participated in similar play activities but when analyzing separate play categories, girls achieved significantly higher scores than boys in creative, lessons (P<.05). Finally, results from the regression model showed that manual ability and gross motor function are the only predictors of play participation.