“It Was Like Offering a Band-Aid for a Fracture”: Parents’ Experiences with Barriers to Accessing Services and Support for Their Neurodivergent Child in Finland




Kaittila, Anniina; Leinonen, Leena; Alin, Minna; Vornanen, Riitta; Kraav, Siiri-Liisi; Eriksson, Pia; Anis, Merja

PublisherTaylor & Francis

2025

Child & youth services

Child & Youth Services

1-28

0145-935X

1545-2298

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1080/0145935X.2025.2449639

https://doi.org/10.1080/0145935x.2025.2449639



The aim of this study is to examine parents’ experiences with barriers in accessing services and support for their neurodivergent child in Finland through qualitative interviews. We approach the topic with Levesque’s Conceptual Framework for Healthcare Access (Citation2013), where it is acknowledged that barriers for help seeking and receiving services may take place in different stages of the process. Key barriers include the unstructured service system, the failure to offer opportunities for the child and the family to participate in designing support, and the professionals’ lack of knowledge about neurodiversity and its effects on the child’s and family’s lives.



This work was supported by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (Finland).


Last updated on 2025-07-03 at 12:34