Exploring Skills Gained Through a Robotics Program for Youth With Disabilities

Assessing the environmental quality of an adapted, play-based LEGO® robotics program to achieve optimal outcomes for children with disabilities

Purpose: This study assessed the environmental quality of an adapted, play-based LEGO^® robotics program for children and youth with disabilities to determine the degree to which the activity setting supports the therapeutic goals of the program.Materials and methods: We measured the environmental qualities of a robotics program held at a paediatric rehabilitation hospital. We observed and coded video-recordings of the robotics program, specifically one session from each of five different rooms where the program took place. Using the 32-item Measure of Environmental Qualities of Activity Settings (MEQAS), we described the place- and opportunity-related qualities of these settings.Results: Our observations revealed that, across all five settings, the environments support the therapeutic goals of the program, including providing opportunities for social interaction with peers and adults to a great extent. We also identified several environmental features of the robotics program that support optimal outcomes for children and youth with disabilities.Conclusions: Our findings lend support for the value of examining environmental opportunities and affordances of play-based therapy within rehabilitation.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONAssessing the environmental opportunities and affordances of play-based activities using the Measure of Environmental Qualities of Activity Settings (MEQAS) is valuable for supporting positive outcomes in rehabilitation.The settings of an adapted LEGO^® robotics program offer children with disabilities opportunities to engage in social interactions with peers and adults, to learn a new skill, and to develop a sense of self-identity.Optimal therapeutic outcomes of an adapted LEGO^® robotics program can be supported by environmental features, including: large tables with sufficient space for two youth and one or two adult volunteers to interact at eye-level, arranged separately with enough space to invite movement between tables, in such a way that children may also interact across tables.