Occupational balance of children and families in early childhood interventions

ABSTRACT

We examined occupational balance, individuals’ level of satisfaction with their ability to meet various occupational needs through their activity patterns and quality of life (QOL), in families of children receiving early intervention and preschool special education services, using a web-based, cross-sectional, non-experimental survey design. The survey consisted of the Life Balance Inventory, the Kemp Quality of Life Scale, the Mastery/Control section of the Kansas Inventory of Parental Perceptions due to the relationship of control to QOL, and open-ended questions. While most participants classified themselves as moderately balanced or very balanced overall, the majority (60.9%) were unbalanced or very unbalanced in health. Fewer participants reported high quality of life compared to other non-disabled adults. Participants identified both barriers and facilitators of occupational balance related to service delivery. Occupational therapists should utilize intervention strategies that enhance occupational balance.

KEYWORDS:

• Early childhood
• early intervention
• occupational balance
• preschool
• quality of life
• special education

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the participants for their time and thoughtful contributions to the study as well as to the daycares and agencies that shared the survey information with prospective participants.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported that there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.