Childhood disability team services involve multiple professionals, parents and children with disabilities. There is an expectation for families to work in a collaborative and integrated way with professionals; however, there is limited evidence about parents’ views on relationship development in disability practice. The Stages2Engage model was created from the supervisor’s PhD research to support relationship development between families and professionals in disability practice. The model provides a relationship trajectory of five stages where the position of the individual on this trajectory influences their interaction, expectations and level of involvement in the intervention. There is a need to explore how this innovation, the Stages2Engage model, is acceptable, appropriate and feasible for practice. The supervisor has conducted research asking professionals about the model, and it is important to ask families.
In 2024, ethical approval was granted for this study. To date, six parents have taken part and were interviewed. This summer project will progress the study by including more parents. This project will involve interviewing six parents of children who are involved with childhood disability teams in Ireland. The children will have been recruited by the research supervisor. With supervision and support, the student will:
collect data through one-to-one interviews with the parents
transcribe and analyse the interviews
complete a qualitative content analysis of the data
prepare a report for the project.
The project will be completed in the 8-week timeframe, and the plan is as follows:
Weeks 1-2: Data Collection
Weeks 3-5: Completing data analysis
Weeks 6-8: Preparing the report