# Relationships Between Frequency of Attendance, Engagement and Independence in Everyday Activities Among Children and Youth With Intellectual and Other Developmental Disabilities: The Association With Comprehension Difficulties

## TL;DR

The study finds that children with intellectual disabilities and comprehension difficulties attend and engage in everyday activities less than others, highlighting the need for personalized support.

## Contribution

The study identifies distinct patterns of participation and independence in children with comprehension difficulties compared to those with other developmental disabilities.

## Key findings

- Children with comprehension difficulties show lower attendance, engagement, and independence in everyday activities.
- Strong correlations exist between attendance, engagement, and independence overall, but vary by specific activities.
- Targeted, individualized assessment and intervention are needed for children with disabilities.

## Abstract

Participation (attendance and engagement) is important for children's development and well‐being. The aim was to study the relationships between attendance, engagement and independence in everyday activities of children with intellectual and other developmental disabilities and to compare patterns between children with and without comprehension difficulties.

Participation and independence (FUNDES‐Child‐SE) were measured in 131 Swedish participants (aged 5–18 years). The analysis included Mann–Whitney U and Spearman's rank correlation tests.

The group without comprehension difficulties attended with a frequency more similar to typically developing peers, with higher engagement and independence. There were very strong overall attendance‐engagement correlations (r = 0.91 for the group with comprehension difficulties and r = 0.87 for the group without) and attendance‐independence correlations (r = 0.86 and r = 0.87), as well as a strong correlation between engagement and independence (r = 0.78 and r = 0.77).

Despite strong overall correlations between dimensions, differences across specific activity items underscore the need for targeted assessment and intervention.

Children with comprehension difficulties attend everyday activities less often and are less engaged and independent when doing so compared to children with other disabilities.There is a strong association between overall attendance, engagement and independence in everyday activities in children with disabilities, but the strength of the association differs across specific activities.There is a need for targeted, individualised assessment and intervention in children with disabilities.

Children with comprehension difficulties attend everyday activities less often and are less engaged and independent when doing so compared to children with other disabilities.

There is a strong association between overall attendance, engagement and independence in everyday activities in children with disabilities, but the strength of the association differs across specific activities.

There is a need for targeted, individualised assessment and intervention in children with disabilities.