Aim: Collaboration between speech and language therapists and parents to help children with language disorders has always been important. The majority of published work is from the perspective of the therapist and what they think and feel parents need to help their children. However, less is known about (1) the processes parents try to access and receive services; (2) how they perceive the journey; and (3) what they think about the service provided to their child. This paper describes an exploration of how parents experience identification and access of services for their children living with language disorders. Subjects and methods: Parents from ten countries, with a child who had received services for speech language disorder participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. Results: Two main themes were constructed: (1) Parental recognition of the need for services; and (2) difficulties accessing services. Parents detailed how they recognised that their children needed services and how they went about securing them. Parents recounted the process they undertook; from their initial concerns about their child’s development, the feelings this engendered, and how they tried to get support and treatment. Parents talked about the factors that made them decide they had to fight to gain access to services for their children. Conclusions: Across countries, parents encounter similar experiences. The major obstacles identified by parents lead to the perception of delay in obtaining access to services. Identifying the services that children required was the first hurdle, even before getting a referral to them.

Purpose: Although researchers have explored parental perspectives on childhood speech and language disorders, this work has mostly been conducted in English-speaking countries. Little is known about parental experiences across countries. Participation in the COST Action IS1406 ‘Enhancing children's oral language skills across Europe and beyond’ provided an opportunity to conduct cross-cultural qualitative interviews. The aims were to explore how parents construe inclusion and/or exclusion of their child and how parents involve themselves in order to facilitate inclusion. Method: Parents from nine countries and with a child who had received services for speech-language disorder participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews. We used thematic analysis to analyze the data. Results: Two overarching themes were identified: ‘Language disabilities led to social exclusion’ and ‘Promoting pathways to social inclusion’. Two subthemes were identified Interpersonal relationships are important and Deliberate proactiveness as stepping stones for social inclusion. Conclusions: Across countries, parents report that their children's hidden disability causes misunderstandings that can lead to social exclusion and that they are important advocates for their children. It is important that the voices and experiences of parents of children with developmental disabilities are understood and acknowledged. Parents’ recommendations about how to support social inclusion need to be addressed at all levels of society.

Purpose: Although researchers have explored parental perspectives of childhood speech and language disorders, most studies have been conducted in English-speaking countries. Little is known about parental experiences across countries, where procedures of language screening and services for language disorders differ. The authors participated in the COST¹ Action network IS1406, “Enhancing Children’s Oral Language Skills Across Europe and Beyond,” which provided an opportunity to conduct cross-country qualitative interviews with parents. The aim of this pilot study was to explore ways in which parents construed and described speech and language disorders across countries. Method: Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with parents from 10 families in 10 different countries. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings: The overall theme was “acknowledging parental expertise.” The parents described, in detail, ways in which their children’s speech and language (dis)abilities had an impact on the children’s everyday life. Three subthemes were identified: impairment, disability, and changes over time. Conclusions: The findings suggest that, across a range of countries, parents demonstrated contextualized understandings of their children’s speech and language (dis)abilities, along with the everyday functional implications of the disorders. Hence, despite not holding professional knowledge about language disorders, the voices, views, understandings, and personal experiences of parents in relation to their child’s disorder should be listened to when planning therapy services.