Babies & Children
F-Words in Childhood Disability
27 Mar 2018
In 2012, Dr. Rosenbaum and Dr. Gorter published a paper titled: “The ‘F-words’ in Childhood Disability: I swear this is how we should think!” Inspired by over two decades of CanChild research and continual discussion amongst members of the CanChild family, the paper features six F-words that the author’s state should be the focus in childhood disability – Function, Family, Fitness, Fun, Friends, and Future.
Function: refers to what people do – how things are done is not what is important; synonyms include ‘role’, ‘job’, ‘task’, etc. (for children, ‘play’ is their ‘work’)
Family: represents the essential ‘environment’ of all children
Fitness: refers to how children stay physically active, including exercise and other recreational opportunities
Fun: includes particular activities children are involved in or enjoy participating in
Friends: refers to the friendships established with peers; social development is an essential aspect of personhood
Future: is what child development is all about; it refers to parents and children’s expectations and dreams for their future
