The perceptions of primary caregivers on the social skills and recreational activities of children aged 10-12 years with Down syndrome

Abstract

Caregivers of children with Down syndrome (DS) spend an extensive amount of time supervising and carrying out health care-related  tasks for those under their care. Such demands make it prudent to consider their views when addressing children's social skills  development and recreational participation as this improves the quality of life of children with DS. The aim of this study was to describe  primary caregivers’ perceptions about the social skills and recreational participation of 10- to 12-year-old children with DS in the North  West province of South Africa. The study adopted a qualitative research approach within an interpretive paradigm, underpinned by the  social model of disability. A phenomenological design was used to describe the perceptions of a group of purposively sampled primary  caregivers (biological mothers: n=9) and guardians (n=4) who had primary custodianship of children with DS and participated in semi- structured interviews. Based on thematic data analysis, two main themes emerged from the findings, namely social skills and recreation  participation. Key sub-themes that emerged under these broad themes included respectively, communication skills, formation of  friendships and interactional skills as well as engagement in recreation activities and societal acceptance during recreation participation.  The findings provide key nuances in mediating interactions between children with DS and their social environment to facilitate their  inclusion in recreation activities through collaboration between primary caregivers and other stakeholders. The study proposes a multi- faceted approach involving primary caregivers, special schools, recreation professionals, occupational therapists and disability experts to  enhance the social skills and recreation engagement of children with DS.