Teaching intensive interaction to paid carers: using the ‘communities of practice’ model to inform training

The engagement of people with learning disabilities in social communication is crucial to the development of relationships with others, a sense of social inclusion and self-worth. Intensive Interaction is an approach that can help carers develop their skills to engage people with severe and profound learning disabilities in personally relevant communication. Carers learn techniques by attending workshops offered by health and social care professionals, and this study seeks to explore the impact of one such training programme. This study used interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore the lived experience of Intensive Interaction training and practice of three paid carers who worked with people with learning disabilities. Three superordinate themes emerged from the analysis: Investment', Outcomes' and Challenges'. Results suggest that participants had an overwhelmingly positive experience in learning and using Intensive Interaction and that coaching, supervision and support were vital. The clinical and practical implications for this are discussed.