The instrument Picture my Participation (PmP) is designed to assess the two elements of participation - attendance and involvement - of children in everyday activities in their usual environments. It was initially developed following a review of literature, undertaken for UNICEF, seeking to identify participation measures suitable to use in low resource settings around the world.

In 2014, the first draft was developed by Professor Christine Imms from Australia, Professor Mats Granlund from Sweden, and Professor Juan Bornman from South Africa, each with extensive experience in research about children with disability and participation in everyday life. The instrument was developed for use in settings where a picture-based conversation would be needed to elicit answers and information about participation. The instrument was drafted to be delivered using Talking MatsTM procedures (Cameron L & Murphy J. 2002). It was then field tested in Western Australia by Professor Catherine Elliott, in an Aboriginal setting using yarning approach. Following this, PmP was revised in 2018 and a research version of the manual produced.

PmP has been tested and validated in high- and low-income countries, and used in a range of settings in Sweden, Taiwan, China, South Africa and Uganda. The PmP instrument has been used in research with children and youth aged 5 to 21 years, and with those with different disabilities (intellectual and physical impairments), as well as with children with long term health conditions.

PmP has been validated psychometrically and demonstrates sufficient evidence for use in research and clinical settings. Depending on the purpose of assessment the whole instrument can be used, or the different sections can be used individually.


For more information:

Arvidsson, P., Dada, S., Granlund, M., Imms, C., Bornman, J., Elliott, C., & Huus, K. (2020). Content validity and usefulness of Picture My Participation for measuring participation in children with and without intellectual disability in South Africa and Sweden. External link, opens in new window. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 27(5), 336-348.

Arvidsson, P., Dada, S., Granlund, M., Imms, C., Shi, L. J., Kang, L. J., ... & Huus, K. (2021). Structural validity and internal consistency of Picture My Participation: A measure for children with disability. External link, opens in new window. African Journal of Disability (Online), 10, 1-8.

Balton, S., Arvidsson, P., Granlund, M., Huus, K., & Dada, S. (2022). Test-retest reliability of Picture My Participation in children with intellectual disability in South Africa. External link, opens in new window. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 29(4), 315-324.

Cameron, L., & Murphy, J. (2002). Enabling young people with a learning disability to make choices at a time of transition. External link, opens in new window. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30(3), 105-112.


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