Ladders, trees and matrixes: Child-focused participatory action research frameworks for children with diverse communication abilities

Several frameworks – including Hart's Ladder of Participation, Shier's Models for Participation and the Lundy Model – have been developed to support children's genuine participation as researchers. These child-focused participatory action research (C-PAR) frameworks claim to increase children's capacity to share their thoughts and opinions to change their lives and communities. This narrative review involved systematic database searches to identify application of these key C-PAR frameworks and the extent of child participation by children with diverse communication abilities, particularly within the field of speech and language therapy research. Thirty three papers were identified for descriptive analysis. Children included in these studies were aged between 2 and 18 years. Children were from Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Jamaica, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. Most studies included children with speech, language and communication needs ( n = 32, 96.99%) and one paper (3.03%) included children with a swallowing disorder. Most studies ( n = 26, 78.79%) consulted children at the data collection stage, often using visual supports, but fewer papers also involved children at other stages of the research process ( n = 7, 21.21%). Of these 33 papers, only four (12.12%) directly applied one of the C-PAR frameworks. Within speech and language therapy research, we can mature in our practice of involving children with diverse communication needs in all stages of a research project, to support their genuine participation as researchers.