‘I want them to see that I feel normal’: three children’s experiences from attending consultations in paediatric rehabilitation

Abstract

This article describes and analyses three children’s experiences of taking part in consultations at a paediatric rehabilitation unit in Norway. The analyses focus on how the children express themselves through social life experiences during the consultation. It is discussed how the children apply their embodied knowledge and experience in identifying themselves as normal, and what challenges this identification during a consultation. The analyses emphasize what the children’s experiences can mean, and how these experiences represent professional practice and structural constraints in paediatric rehabilitation. By investigating the child’s embodied knowledge during consultations, a focus on biomedical issues may overshadow the child’s own perceptions of issues related to functioning in everyday life. The children’s descriptions are relevant for advocating children’s participation in matters concerning their own lives, and for disabled children’s participation in decision-making more specifically.

Keywords:

• children’s experience
• decision-making
• embodiment
• disability
• involvement
• paediatric rehabilitation

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Professor Benedicte Ingstad and Associate Professor Bjørg Fallang for supervising this article. This study is part of the project ‘Talk With Us’ – professional practice and children’s participation, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences.