Assessment of Social Participation in Three Measurement Times in Children with Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) Based on Parental Perceptions

Purpose: The aim of this study was to measure social participation in children with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) on their parental perceptions, retrospectively for the pre-injury period, at the beginning of rehabilitation and one year after return to school. Methods: This study was conducted among 17 children aged 5 to 17 years old with moderate or severe TBI and their parents. Social participation was assessed using the LIFE-H for Children (1.0). Results: A significant decrease (p ≤ 0.001) in the level of accomplishment of life habits was found for all categories between the measurements taken pre-injury and at the beginning of rehabilitation. Significant differences (p ≤ 0.002) related to the increase in the life habit accomplishment scores were also found between measurements taken at the beginning of rehabilitation and one year after return to school. Conclusion: TBI significantly affected the accomplishment of life habits of the participants compared to their pre-injury level. The assessment of social participation at various times provides a report on the client’s progress and allows clinicians to update his or her intervention plan, to plan follow-ups or to end the intervention. This knowledge must be considered by anyone involved in helping these children to achieve their greatest social participation. Mr. Louis Doré deceased on 1st October 2014. Corresponding author. P. Fougeyrollas et al.