The right to play: getting to know childhood and enhancing occupational therapy's action

Abstract

An account on the development of play activity groups with children (4 to 13 years old) carried out in the street setting in a suburb of Sao Paulo city. The group was coordinated by a team of an occupational therapist and two O.T. students and is part of a project for university faculty and the local basic health unit, taking place from April 2004 until July 2005. Based on the record of meetings and discussions among professionals involved we were able to recover the trajectory of the experience. The team went to the street and for two hours carried out play activities, games and conversations. Comprehension of the dynamic of the children in this location and the promotion of meetings ruled by learning experiences and solidarity were guiding elements of these group meetings. By the contact with these children we observed inconsistencies related to the use of public space and individual demands. We noted conflicting interpersonal relationships between children which required mediation by adults and contacted the parents. Ten families were interviewed (total 17 children) to understand the family structure, the children's performance at school, their free time activities, favorite games, and family leisure activities. There was a significant adhesion and a positive acknowledgement of the intervention by the children. The team came to comprehend the complexity of the conditions in which the children, comprised in the area of this basic health unit, live. This work fomented the debate on the creation of alternative services and on civil rights.