Introduction: Children with disabilities usually have an extensive need for support from their parents in communication with healthcare professionals in pediatric rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to explore parents’ expectations of a digital communication and decision making tool for children with disabilities in pediatric rehabilitation.

Patients and methods: The study had a descriptive design with a qualitative content analysis approach. Interviews were conducted with 17 parents (aged 31-62 years, 13 mothers and 4 fathers) to children with intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities or autism spectrum disorders. Results: Three categories emerged reflecting parents’ expectation of how to increase participation in rehabilitation by using a digital communication and decision tool: 1) the children will become more confident with a higher self-esteem if they easily can express themselves and their inner thoughts 2) the children will respond more honestly without considering what their parents or healthcare professionals expect to hear 3) the children will become more independent if they have a possibility to be involved and understand decisions in their own rehabilitation.

Conclusion: The parents highlighted the importance of self-esteem as prerequisites to increase participation in rehabilitation for their children with disabilities, which they believed could be achieved by using a digital tool. A digital communication and decision making tool would strengthen the children’s voices in their own rehabilitation. This result constitutes therefore a basis in the development of a forthcoming digital communication and decision making tool, with the main objective to increase participation, for children with disabilities.