Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

Parent Pathways: Recognition And Responses To Developmental Delays In Young Children, Jennifer Marshall

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The importance of early recognition and intervention for developmental delays is increasingly acknowledged, yet high rates of under-enrollment and 1-3 year delays in entry to the public early intervention system continue. Much research has examined developmental screening in health and child care settings, but less well understood is what prompts parents to identify problems and seek help for their children. This mixed methods study rooted in the Health Belief Model and Social Support Theory examined child, parent, family, and community level factors related to parent recognition (awareness and concern) and response (help-seeking and enrollment in services), including formal and informal …