Abstract
This study seeks to identify the most common challenges and opportunities experienced by both the parents of children with intellectual disabilities, and specialists in the field, to identify and improve the services available to them. A qualitative approach is employed, and the data is collected via individual semi-structured interviews with 11 individuals, as follows: five parents of students with intellectual disabilities, who have received early intervention services, and six early intervention specialists. The data is analysed by exploring the topics thematically. The most prominent recommendations are the need to define the specialist fields that provide early intervention services, to issue a guide to early intervention services in Saudi Arabia, and to develop guidance programmes for both parents and workers in the field of supporting children with intellectual disabilities, and to prepare it for an initial follow-up.