A lack of co-ordination in the delivery of early intervention to children with an intellectual disability in Ireland led Sinéad Foran and John Sweeney to examine the lived experiences of families accessing services

The aim of this phenomenological study was to investigate the lived experiences of primary caregivers of children with intellectual disabilities who access specialist early intervention (EI) services in Ireland. Using purposive sampling with inclusion criteria, seven participants were chosen for the research study. In-depth interviews were carried out using an interview guide to collect the data. Data analysis was conducted using Van Manen’s framework of analysis. Five themes and 13 sub-themes emerged from the data analysis, suggesting that accessing specialist EI services is a pathway fraught with questions and challenges for the caregivers. Despite broad satisfaction with specialist EI services, some inconsistencies in service access and provision emerged.