Participation or exclusion? Perspectives of pupils with autistic spectrum disorders on their participation in leisure activities

Accessible summary This article is about research which asked children and young people with autistic spectrum disorder what they like to do in their leisure time. We also asked what activities they would like to do but cannot. The children told us their views using whatever ways to communicate they preferred. Younger children liked to play with friends, go swimming, bowling and other activities with their parents. Older children liked to stay at home and use the Internet. Joining in with leisure activities seemed to be harder for these children than for those without autism. The children and young people told us what prevented them from joining in with leisure activities. Children wanted to feel safe and did not like people being unfriendly towards them. This put the older children off going outdoors. This research is important as children with ASD are often not asked what they think about things especially if the children have difficulties communicating in an ordinary way. Summary The importance of active participation in leisure activities for everybody is identified by Carr (2004) but issues around leisure in the lives of children with disabilities have received little recognition. The experience of children/young people (henceforth referred to simply as children, for brevity) with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) in accessing and engaging in leisure pursuits is particularly lacking in the literature. This article describes a small‐scale investigation of the views of children and young people with ASD around their access to leisure activities. The distinctive range of impairments characteristic of ASD is discussed in terms of their impact on the child’s possibilities for accessing this area of life. Findings indicate the significant challenges these children face in achieving an active and varied life outside of school and home environments. The importance and also the challenge of consulting with children with disabilities are discussed.