‘Me at the Centre’: perspectives of children with disabilities on community-based services in Serbia

Abstract

This paper presents results of the research into perspectives of children with disabilities on the space within community-based services in Serbia. The concept of children's agency and participation is considered in the context of inclusion of children with disabilities in the evaluation of services. Using specially developed ‘Me at the Centre’ evaluation method, 20 children aged between 7 and 17 years receiving the home care, day-care centre and respite care services were interviewed in order to understand their perspectives on the services and the ways to improve them from the child perspective. The research results show that children with disabilities can make a significant contribution to the review and enhancement of community services designed for them.

Keywords:

• children's participation
• children with disabilities
• service space
• service evaluation
• Serbia

Acknowledgement

We would to express our gratitude to children who shared their experiences and knowledge with us and to their carers and parents who supported their participation in this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the European Commission through IPA Fund 2008 [grant number CRIS2010/232-643].