Personal Projects of Boys with Developmental Coordination Disorder

Abstract

Understanding the leisure perspectives of preadolescent boys with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) requires more than documenting time-use patterns. This study explored the use of the Personal Projects Analysis for Children (PPA-C) to improve depth of understanding about personally meaningful leisure participation for this population. Sixty boys with DCD and 113 boys without DCD completed the PPA-C. Boys with DCD reported significantly fewer personal projects involving physical activities; fewer friends with whom to complete personal projects; more solitary leisure projects; and fewer personally meaningful personal projects in total than the comparison group. The PPA-C findings provided ecologically sensitive and personally salient information about leisure time participation from the perspectives of boys with and without DCD. The low frequency of self-reported social and physical activity personal projects for boys with DCD has not been previously detailed in this way. Occupational therapists are challenged to be vigilant regarding restricted leisure portfolios and expectations about activity participation in boys with DCD, with further research and advocacy for balanced portfolios of personally meaningful leisure.