Special Interests of Children with IDDs

Playtime is one of the most important and enjoyable moments of the day for children, especially at a younger age (Glenn, Knight, Holt, & Spence, 2013). Most children

expressed an increased preference in playing electronic games on their computers or smartphones. They are highly interested and fascinated by technology and love to spend time playing. Research suggests that the increased interest in online games and virtual worlds is a significant feature of the childhoods of the modern days affecting the cultural and social spheres of the young generations (Marsh, 2010). This is also the case for children with IDDs in my study.

For parents screen time that children with IDDs spend is seen as problematic be-cause it can easily become addictive which may lead to self-isolation and loss of interest in other activities. It is also believed to affect the cognitive and social skills of the chil-dren with IDDs as it might contribute to deepen the challenges experienced in these areas. Children with IDDs are prone to use technology as a means of escaping un-comfortable social situations, which makes it harder for them to develop social skills.

Furthermore, as it happens with children in general, technology distracts children from learning and educational activities such as homework, therefore impeding their cogni-tive development. Parents try to limit children’s time using technology and encourage more playtime away from technology. Despite the awareness of the negative conse-quences of technology, there is also a pattern in using screen time as a method of positive reinforcement for good behaviour or task completion.

In one instance, I was a witness to this practice when I conducted an interview with the parents of one of the children. The four of us were sitting together in one row and the child was very impatient and did not want to wait for their parents to give an interview with me. The mother handed her smartphone over to her child and promised that he could play his favourite game on the device if he was quiet and allowed us to talk for a few minutes. The child agreed to this deal and started playing on the phone.

I observed that he was very engaged with the game and did not show any curiosity about what was going on around him. He was very focused on the mobile game and did not seem to be listening to our conversation or showing any interest or engagement with us. Normally he was considered to be a very curious child, however, the mobile game captured all of his attention and interest. This story illustrates how indispensable technology is to children with IDDs.

When it comes to technology, there is an international debate between protecting children from the harm that it might cause, in contrast to giving them agency to spend as much time as they like using technology and have access to information. The 2017 UNICEF report (Third, Bellerose, De Oliveira, Lala, & Theakstone, 2017) offers insight into the perspectives of parents and children regarding technology. Parents’ central issue is concern over the negative consequences that the overuse of technology might have on their health, school performance or social life. The authors view children as fragile and ’ignorant’ of the dangers of the online world, therefore they undermine chil-dren’s capacity to act responsibly and be aware of the risks. Whereas, children are often concerned about cyberbullying, discrimination and inappropriate content. Moreover, they highlight issues surrounding inequality of access to the internet and technology depending on economic status and location.

When it comes to children with disabilities, issues of vulnerability, support, and safety are in need of examination with regards to child and disability rights. Alper and Goggin (Alper et al., 2016), call for an intersectional framework when discussing digital rights, as a result of the conflicting factors that influence children access and participa-tion in the digital age. The main factor that highly influences the usage of technology is socio-economic status. Children’s access to technology is dependent on the family’s capacity to provide resources such as internet services and digital devices like phones and computers. In Albania, access to technology and the internet is not considered as a basic need. Therefore less affluent families are not inclined to provide children with their own devices. Most children are allowed to use their parents’ smartphones or computers but they don’t have ownership of them. On the other hand, it is more com-mon for affluent families to give smartphones or tablets as presents to their children, consequently providing them with greater access opportunities to the internet.

Some children during the interviews or casual interactions shared with me their special interests or hobbies that they enjoyed the most. In our interview about school, Kris told me about his favourite class, which is Physical Education (PE). In this class, boys spend their time mostly playing sports and exercising. Kris’s favourite sport is football and he is especially enthusiastic in the class when he is selected to be captain of the team.

Kris: Once I got to be captain of the team and I had a lot of fun.

I: What was it like? What does the captain do?

Kris: The captain is the leader of the team and he needs to plan how the game. Once I designed a game plan for my team so we could win and I shared it with the others.

I: Are you often the captain of the team?

Kris: No, everyone is captain, we take turns.

I: Is football your favourite sport?

Kris: Yes. I also like basketball and volleyball, My dad also like football and sometimes we watch games in TV when I finish my homework.

Many children attested to enjoying participation in sporting activities at school. Flo-rian said he also attends private basketball sessions on Saturdays and plays with his friends. It is very common for parents to send their children to private sports classes as a way of encouraging an active lifestyle and providing opportunities for socialisation outside of school. However, there is a gender disparity in the opportunities of partic-ipation in sports, because girls are not commonly taken to sports lessons and do not mention playing sports at school.

Sports are very beneficial for children with IDDs because they provide opportunity for learning, improvement of skills and socialisation with peers in a friendly setting.

Research suggests that the effects of exercise and sport in children with IDDs is as-sociated with improved physical health as well as psycho-social functioning. Sports

are an effective way of promoting inclusion amongst children (Murphy, Carbone, et al., 2008). Furthermore, it is a positive influence in developing healthy and productive lifestyles and increasing the general well being of children (Wilson & Clayton, 2010).

Children with IDDs particularly enjoy the sense of accomplishment and self-efficacy (Wickman, Nordlund, & Holm, 2018) they experience when they successfully partici-pate in games, especially if they win. Moreover, they enjoy the company of their peers and the fulfilment of being part of a team.

There are children with IDDs, especially those with autism who find great enjoy-ment in hobbies or special interests. Tina says her biggest passion is music and she loves playing the piano. Her interest in music, prompted her parents to attempt to get her registered in the artistic lyceum in Tirana. This is a special school where children follow intensive, specialised art classes and a reduced load of the general subjects.

She was in the second year of high school now and her excitement and pride over her accomplishments was so apparent when she showed me videos of her performances on the piano. Altin was another child who was passionate about art. He had a talent in drawing detailed pictures of the characters of the games he played on his phone. He was only 10, but his drawing skills were fascinating together with his unique style of drawing and perceiving the characters. Art provides children with IDDs with an outlet for expression and creativity that doesn’t require verbal communication or interaction.

Art is an activity that does not require guidance or supervision from an adult and there-fore it enables children to express themselves freely and creatively, without having to partake in adult-lead structured activities. Artistic practices and free play are activities that empower children and acknowledge them as experts and active agents.