Exploring parents’ experiences: Parent-focused intervention groups for communication needs

Abstract

Perceptions of a convenience sample of 10 parents (one father, nine mothers) who had completed one or more group-based, parent-focused interventions for their children’s communication needs were explored during semi-structured interviews. Nine different intervention groups (EarlyBird programmes, early communication skills training, or Makaton training) were discussed. Inductive and grounded theory approaches were used during thematic analysis to focus on parents’ priorities. Themes identified were: (1) intervention purposes, including initial session purposes; (2) groups as supportive/safe spaces; (3) personal change (behaviours and self-perception); (4) challenges of groups; (5) costs and benefits, including emotional costs. Parents supported previously reported findings about changes in knowledge, understanding, and perception of their role. Parents provided insights into how changes occurred, including helpful processes and professional strategies. They described emotional impacts of parent-focused intervention, particularly parental guilt. Participants perceived peer groups as contributing safe spaces and opportunities, but also challenges. Two parents experienced reduced benefits due to significant individual differences relating to their child’s more complex needs. Participants confirmed some speech and language therapists’ (SLTs’) perceptions about how interventions work and challenged others. Key findings were that (1) parents’ experiences during intervention facilitate personal change; (2) parents experience personal costs and benefits of intervention; (3) peer groups contribute to intervention effectiveness. These findings indicated that parents experience significant personal impacts from parent-focused intervention groups, and that groups provide a specific intervention type that differs from individual input. Clinical implications are that professionals need awareness of impacts on parents to support effective intervention and avoid harm; peer groups can facilitate learning and parental agency; dissimilarity to peers can make group intervention inappropriate. Study limitations included fewer perspectives from parents of children with primary communication needs. Further exploration of interventions’ emotional impacts, how group processes support parental confidence and agency, and effects of individual differences on suitability of group intervention are suggested.