Mapping the Instruments Used to Measure Well-Being on Children With Disabilities: A Scoping Review.
Estrella Torres Cabo, Mats Granlund, Magnus Ivarsson
PMID 40931762WHAT IT FOUND
Ten self-report instruments for well-being in children with disabilities were identified.
Most focus on emotional and psychological aspects, leaving social well-being under-represented. Only a few scales are explicitly adapted for this population, often lacking comprehensive coverage of the dual continua model.
Key findings
01The review identified 13 articles using 10 different instruments to measure self-reported well-being in children with disabilities.
02Social well-being was the least covered dimension, while emotional well-being was the most frequently occurring.
03Only six of the ten instruments were specifically designed for children with disabilities.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The search was limited to English-language publications from 2010 to 2023, which may have excluded relevant earlier or non-English instruments. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed by a single author, introducing potential bias. The framework used to assess cognitive accessibility was not originally developed for that purpose, limiting the depth of that analysis. The small number of included studies (13) reflects a sparse literature on positive well-being measures in this specific population.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the Swedish Research Council.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that widely used adult well-being scales are valid or accessible for children with disabilities without checking for specific adaptations. The review shows that many instruments lack the necessary design features for this population, and even those that are used often fail to capture social well-being, which is critical for understanding participation and inclusion.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →