Abstract:
Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) is an intervention targeted at
enhancing the socioemotional and regulatory functioning of at-risk infants.
However, to use the ABC for infants/toddlers with intellectual disabilities/
developmental delays (ID/DD) and in novel cultural contexts, such as South
Africa, adaptations may be required. This study aimed, therefore, to explore the
opinions of clinical experts and perceptions of caregivers regarding the use of
ABC for children with ID/DD in South Africa. It also sought to incorporate the
experiences of families of children with ID/DD who received, and intervenors
who delivered, ABC in its first implementation in South Africa. Semi-structured
interviews were conducted with 18 participants. Thematic analysis explicated
12 main themes: Intervention Strengths, Points of Concern, and Recommendations
(Experts); Focus on Caregiver-child Relationship, and Intervention Targets
and Duration (Caregivers); Benefits of ABC, and Cultural Considerations (ABC
Recipients); Focused and Targeted, Value of Feedback, Supportive Supervision,
Working Alliance, and Challenges Experienced (ABC Intervenors). Practice and
training recommendations include psychoeducation for parents and training
for intervenors that is ID/DD-specific, expanding supervision capacity, building
intervenors’ cultural/linguistic sensitivity and competence, accessing referral
networks, including local Community Health Workers as intervenors, and
greater flexibility in how the sessions are organized.
