Learning from parents' stories about what works in early intervention

Abstract

Using a multiple case study approach, this ethnography examined the experiences of parents of children deemed at risk for developmental delays or disabilities who had received early intervention (EI) services (birth to age 3 years) in a large urban location in Western Canada. Participants (11 adult parents and 7 children) were drawn from six families. Methods of data collection included focus groups (FG), face-to-face interviews and file reviews. Member check and expert reviews were conducted throughout data collection and data analyses as part of the validation process in this ethnography. Qualitative content analyses followed by thematic analyses highlighted the implementation of family-centred practices (FCP) as a main theme. Parents identified how EI professionals using FCP embraced collaborative practices. FCP resulted in parents leading the EI process for their children. More specifically, EI professionals shared strategies and information to support parents in gaining a deeper understanding of their children's individual developmental characteristics. Parents expressed how empowering this level of understanding was for them as they learned to articulate what were their children's needs for developmental, health and educational services. Recommendations for future research include inquiring about parents' experiences for families of diverse constellations and/or residing in smaller urban or rural communities.

The impact of preterm birth <37 weeks on parents and families: a cross-sectional study in the 2 years after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit

“…A recent meta-analysis suggests that community-based developmental programs had beneficial pooled effects on maternal anxiety, depressive symptoms, and self-efficacy [ 71 ]. Moreover, other studies have suggested that these programs can also empower families because of the collaborative process that EI offers; in turn, they have a deeper understanding of their child’s developmental needs [ 72 ].…”

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Early Intervention: Perceptions of Family-Centered Practice

“…FCP is a key guiding principle in the delivery of early intervention services for children with a range of disabilities and their families (Ziviani, Darlington, Feeney, Rodger, & Watter, 2013). Rather than a professionally led model, FCP promotes ongoing parent-professional collaboration and joint decision making (Pighini, Goelman, Buchanan, Schonert-Reichl, & Brynelsen, 2014). Despite consensus that engaging families in early intervention processes is important, the definition and terminology of FCP is not consistently used throughout the literature and has evolved over time (Foster, Decker, Vaterlaus & Belleville, 2020).…”

Evidencias y retos de la Atención Temprana: el modelo centrado en la familia

“…Por otra parte, la intervención en entornos naturales se caracteriza por el desplazamiento de los profesionales "en los contextos habituales de los niños como el hogar familiar y/o la escuela, para capacitar a los cuidadores informales y poder conseguir una mayor consecución de los objetivos en el desarrollo del niño" (Cañadas, 2012, p. 137). Pues los beneficios son más elevados cuando el profesional accede al contexto natural del niño (Pereira y Serrano, 2014), ya que la comunicación en el hogar es más regular y extensa (Fingerhut et al, 2013), la comprensión por parte de los progenitores sobre el trastorno es más profunda y el nivel de comodidad aumenta (Pighini et al, 2014).…”

“…Conocer las percepciones de los familiares sobre los servicios de Atención Temprana es esencial para poder implementar prácticas de calidad y valorar los cambios políticos y metodológicos necesarios, al igual que mejorar los resultados de los niños y la eficacia de los servicios (Davis y Gavidia, 2009;Dias y Cadime, 2019;Hughes y Gavidia, 2019;Pighini et al, 2014).…”