School participation among young people with craniofacial microsomia and other childhood-onset disabilities.
Vera C Kaelin, Dana Anaby, Martha M Werler and 1 others
PMID 37138446WHAT IT FOUND
For children with craniofacial microsomia or other disabilities, school environmental support and fewer physical problems linked to better participation.
Caregiver strategies amplified the link between support and attendance, but not involvement. Behavioral problems showed no direct effect.
Key findings
01Higher school environmental support was related to higher school participation attendance and involvement, while fewer physical functioning problems were associated with higher school participation involvement.
02The number of disclosed caregiver strategies intensified the impact of school environmental support on school participation attendance, but had no effect on school participation involvement.
03There was no significant direct effect of behavioral problems on school participation attendance or involvement.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was cross-sectional, so causality cannot be determined. Participants with missing data on all participation items were excluded, and the included sample had significantly higher caregiver education, income, and proportion of White non-Latinx individuals than the excluded group, limiting generalizability. Caregiver strategies were scored by percentage of disclosure (0%, 33%, 66%, 100%) rather than by type or quality, which may misclassify the nature of the support provided. The study relied on caregiver report for all measures, which may introduce bias.
Declared interests
Funding was provided by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, the University of Illinois Chicago, and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that caregiver strategies improve all aspects of school participation. The study found that while strategies helped translate environmental support into better attendance, they had no effect on the child's level of involvement in activities. Focusing solely on attendance metrics may miss the lack of impact on engagement.