CHAPTER 3 76 Dream Children also spoke about their dreams. This theme was not connected to themes of experience or current performance but rather encompassed several things the children would like. The dreams consisted of fantasies (e.g., travelling around the world in a rocket ship or becoming a Power Ranger), future plans (e.g., becoming a professional chef or living on their own), wishes for their appearance (e.g., having bigger breasts or gaining weight) or objects they would like to get (e.g., a scooter or Legos). Girl (adolescent): “I would really like to start doing a new sport. I think I would like to do kickboxing. Just having a good old punch and getting rid of some anger. I think I will do that after the summer break.” Discussion This study is the first that focused on the perspectives of children with multiple disabilities on everyday activities. Children with a mitochondrial disorder were given a voice, and they engaged the researchers in a rich variety of topics that reflected their broad perspective on performing activities. The activity categories identified in this population are in line with the previously conducted chart review (Lindenschot et al. 2018) and consist of regular childhood enterprises. Additionally, the current findings revealed that some children with a mitochondrial disorder performed activities just like their peers, while others required adaptations that depended on the activity. The broad perspective children gave was divided into three factors: wants and needs, experiences and the way (means) of performance. One of the key themes was that children expressed they wanted to meet up with others whenever they wanted to. The experience of deciding by themselves was important. Besides, children mentioned that performing activities with other people was more fun than doing them by themselves. A second key theme was that children wanted to be able to learn things, do things better/longer/(more) independently or “as others”. Several factors would make them want to perform the activity: because they just liked it, they could do it on their own and the things that happened when they performed the activity made it worthwhile. Some performed the activities in a regular way (just as peers), but if necessary, physical and/or social adaptations supported the performance. As a third key theme, children expressed things they do not want, like experiencing discomfort caused by their disorder. Their disability could cause personal challenges that could result in avoiding the activity. The fourth and final key theme was that children expressed dreams about their future plans, wishes for their appearance, objects they would like to get and their fantasies.
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