Abstract
Aims: This study explored parents' successes, challenges, and recommendations in relation to the application of home activities in early intervention.
Methods: An electronic survey was prepared with Qualtrics software and distributed to parents of children with motor delays. Three open-ended questions were included at the end of the survey. Participants were the child's primary caregiver or guardian and their child must be currently receiving early intervention services or have received early intervention services from a physical or an occupational therapist in the United States in the past 5 years. Two coders used content analysis to analyze parents' responses to open-ended questions.
Results: A total of 252 participants responded to at least one of the open-ended questions that were included in the survey. Responses were grouped into codes and categories that lead to the emergence of four themes. The themes indicated parent-reported challenges, successes, and recommendations in relation to team collaboration, individualization of activities, developmental gains, and parental support.
Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that more focus should be directed toward parent-therapist partnership, multidisciplinary collaboration, and personalization of activities in early intervention. Parents-reported experiences and recommendation could assist early intervention personnel in advancing services provided for children with motor delays.