How can we support paediatric physical therapists (PPTs) to promote a physically active lifestyle in children (6–12 years old) with physical disabilities? We used participatory design methods (‘co-design’) to develop an evidence-based toolkit. We collaborated in a multidisciplinary development team of designers, developers, and researchers together with parents, PPTs, and other relevant stakeholders (such as the Dutch Association of PPTs and care sports connectors). In this design process, we developed prototypes for interventions during three co-creation sessions, four one-week design sprints, living-lab testing and two triangulation sessions.

Our work is published in a range of papers. The design process and the ‘Agile’ methods we applied in the design sprints we describe in two conference papers presented at the Design4Health conference (available here and here). We describe the toolkit in a paper published in Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, available here). Currently, we are in the process of writing a paper on the feasibility of using the toolkit in PPT practices, which will be submitted for publication soon.

Eight tools and instruction videos have been developed so far. Descriptions and instructions are available at the project website.

November 2023 Update: We have now published a study describing the feasibility of using the toolkit. The study, which appeared in PlosOne, shows that the WMY Toolkit is a promising and innovative way to integrate behaviour change techniques into paediatric physical therapy practice.