How can parents help their young child with a spinal cord injury get play experience?

For a very young child who sustains a spinal cord injury, it's important for the parents to understand there's a social participation piece that's important for that child too, particularly for the children who are 0-3, and are participating in any particular school-related program. Parents need to remember that activities they would normally do, like a tot-parent class, or a swim class, or any sort of services that are offered through their YMCAs or preschool programs are very appropriate for their child with a spinal cord injury. This is where parents can be good advocates and go to those programs, let them know their child's special needs, and ensure that child gets incorporated in those preschool-related activities.

They need to advocate for the preschooler to be involved in any community resources that are available to any preschooler, so that they can be mainstreamed with other children, with abilities or disabilities. Sometimes, the disabled groups will have developmental delays, and that's not appropriate for someone who simply has a spinal cord injury. And so, playing with other peers that may not be disabled is an appropriate resource.