Staff experience of the implementation of intensive interaction within their places of work with people with learning disabilities and/or autism.

BACKGROUND

Intensive interaction is an approach used to develop the communication and social inclusion of those who are pre-verbal. It is used in a variety of settings by healthcare and educational staff.

METHOD: A systematic search was conducted to identify and review the literature which explores staff experiences of intensive interaction being implemented within their places of work. Thematic synthesis was utilized to synthesize the findings.

RESULTS

Nine papers were included. Three higher-order themes were generated: "Personal Doubt, Discordance & Discomfort," "A Turning Point" and "Needing Implementation at All Levels."

CONCLUSIONS

There were consistent findings across a range of settings. Findings suggest that intensive interaction is rewarding for staff and beneficial to those that they work with. Implementation was sometimes perceived to be challenging and this review attempts to highlight solutions with guidance of the literature. Limitations largely relate to heterogeneity of the papers and methodological limitations are discussed.