‘Feeling like you can't do anything because you don't know where to start’—Parents' Perspectives of Barriers and Facilitators to Accessing Early Detection for Children at Risk of CP

Early detection of cerebral palsy (CP) risk is possible from 12 weeks corrected gestational age (CGA) using standardised assessments; however, up to half of children at risk are not referred early, missing out on early intervention. We investigated the barriers and facilitators to accessing early intervention from the perspective of parents of children who did not receive services by 6 months CGA.

Citation:
Davidson SA, Thornton A, Hersh D, Harris C, Elliott C, Valentine J. ‘Feeling like you can't do anything because you don't know where to start’—Parents' Perspectives of Barriers and Facilitators to Accessing Early Detection for Children at Risk of Cerebral Palsy. Child Care Health Dev. 2025;51(4).

Keywords:
Cerebral palsy; diagnosis; mothers; paediatrics; qualitative

Abstract:
Early detection of cerebral palsy (CP) risk is possible from 12 weeks corrected gestational age (CGA) using standardised assessments; however, up to half of children at risk are not referred early, missing out on early intervention. We investigated the barriers and facilitators to accessing early intervention from the perspective of parents of children who did not receive services by 6 months CGA.