How does disability impact children’s experiences in outdoor and risky play? A scoping review and narrative synthesis

BACKGROUND: Outdoor and risky play are associated with physical, cognitive, social, and emotional health and wellbeing throughout childhood. All children have the right to play, yet children with disabilities (CWD) are not engaging sufficiently in outdoor or risky play. There is limited literature exploring CWD participation in outdoor and risky play. Therefore, this scoping review aimed to summarize the literature exploring CWD experiences of outdoor and risky play, including definitions, types, preferences, benefits, barriers, and strategies to support CWD engagement in outdoor and risky play. METHODS: This scoping review included studies exploring outdoor and risky play for CWD (0-24 years). A search strategy was co-developed with a librarian and six databases were searched. Included records were screened at title and abstract and full text by multiple reviewers. Data from included articles were extracted and synthesized using narrative synthesis and organized using the socioecological model (SEM). RESULTS: Sixty-nine articles were included in the final review. Articles were diverse in terms of study design, location, and disability type. Many articles explored outdoor play while few explored risky play. Articles reported on definitions, types, preferences, and benefits of outdoor and risky play for CWD. They reported on barriers and facilitators at all levels of the SEM. Finally, articles reported on proposed strategies to support CWD future engagement in outdoor and risky play. CONCLUSIONS: The review revealed that CWD and those who support their participation in outdoor and risky play are resilient in overcoming a multitude of barriers they encounter during outdoor and risky play, as they recognize the benefits of engaging in play. The literature also explores barriers CWD face to participation and future strategies to support their engagement in outdoor and risky play. Future work should explore pathways to support CWD engagement in outdoor and risky play, specifically at the policy level. Furthermore, we must engage with CWD and their supporters to provide them with the autonomy to make decisions around their participation in outdoor and risky play in order to foster opportunities for quality participation. Registration DOI: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/H4FNP.