Leadership in intellectual disability practice: design, development, and evaluation of a programme to support practice.

Background: Intellectual disability services have and continue to experience changes in service provision. This has an implication for leadership in practice as the quality of leadership has a direct influence on staff practice and care provided.

Aim: To design, deliver, and evaluate a leadership programme for nurse and social care managers in Ireland.

To write or not to write: a nurse's account of writing for publication.

Writing for publication is often seen as an arduous, daunting task reserved mainly for those in academia. This paper represents the first author's experience over the past 2 years of working on writing papers for publication in the context of personal and academic development. The aim is to reflect on the first author's journey towards publication with the intention of encouraging nursing staff to make their work visible and validate their practice through publication.

Raising a child with disability and dealing with life events: a mother's journey.

Intellectual disability services recognise people with intellectual disability as a family member and aim to provide effective support that facilitates family cohesion. However, the needs of families and individuals within the family should be addressed in a holistic manner to ensure a seamless service. This article outlines a mother's reflections on her experience of raising a child with autism spectrum disorder and its impact on her life.

Exploring fathers' perceptions of parenting a child with Asperger syndrome.

This study explores Irish fathers' perceptions of parenting a child with Asperger syndrome (AS). Ethical approval was granted by the service provider, and Husserlian phenomenological approach facilitated the exploration. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews of nine fathers in the West region of Ireland.