'Look Mum, No Hands!': Having Fun and Staying Safe are Not Incompatible Outcomes of Exercising Choice

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the effects of giving choices on the level of enjoyment experienced by children with severe disabilities in a recreational activity, without compromising safety. The children were attending a horse-riding program, designed to be both therapeutic and enjoyable. Initial observations, however, indicated that the lack of choices, and the high level of physical assistance provided to the children resulted in minimal benefit or pleasure for the children. In the role of consultants, we introduced a simple intervention in which two meaningful riding routines were taught and choices of game activities were offered during the riding itself. Affording choices (intervention condition) and program-as-usual (control condition) were randomly alternated within riding sessions. The children's indices of pleasure increased over sessions as they mastered basic riding routines. Seven of the 8 children showed differential increases in enjoyment during the choice condition, without an increase in unacceptably risky behaviour. The study demonstrated the value for leisure programs of emphasising choice and autonomy within safety margins, although there is likely to be an additional, and desirable, influence on the children's enjoyment by virtue of their selecting their preferred or more successful activities when offered choices.