| Abstract: | Although the occupational therapy and early intervention literature espouses a family-centred approach to intervention, families have rarely been asked about their experiences of these services. This paper describes a qualitative study that aimed to identify and explore parents' perceptions of occupational therapy services and the impact of these services in their daily family life. Ten mothers of children (aged 0–6 years) with disabilities and high support needs completed questionnaires and semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Analysis revealed that mothers thought in terms of early intervention services in general, rather than in terms of occupational therapy specifically. Mothers used early intervention services primarily to enhance their child's abilities, while considering what was best for their family and, as a lesser priority, themselves. Ideally, relaxed and friendly service providers were perceived as having a greater insight into daily family life, and therefore a greater capacity to provide services to meet family needs (e.g., flexible, home-based services). However, the mothers in this study did not experience many ‘ideal’ characteristics of services and service providers, suggesting that changes are needed in occupational therapy practice and in the education of therapists. Implications for occupational therapy education and practice are discussed in the context of the family-centred literature, and recommendations are made for future research with families. Copyright © 1998 Whurr Publishers Ltd. |
