The 12-week initiative took place in 2024 across three Enable Ireland service locations - Galway City, Curraheen (Cork), and Nenagh (Co. Tipperary). 10 experienced parents were paired with 10 parents newer to the journey of raising a child with complex needs. Enable Ireland Children’s Disability Network Team (CDNT) staff members provided supervision sessions to support parents at monthly intervals. The aim: to provide emotional, social, and practical support through shared lived experience.

Principal Investigators on the pilot project were Dr Lhara Mullins and Dr Devon Goodwin from the University of Galway.

Commenting on the programme, Dr Devon Goodwin said, “This project was born from our own lived experience as parents and our belief in the power of connection. We wanted to create something by parents, with parents, and for parents—because no one understands the journey like someone who’s walked it too”.

Dr Lhara Mullins continued, “Through this pilot, we’ve seen how peer support can reduce loneliness and isolation, build confidence, and offer both practical guidance and emotional reassurance. It’s about creating a community where parents feel seen, supported, and empowered.”

The mixed-method study using both qualitative and quantitative methods found meaningful improvements in:

• Parental self-efficacy – Project had a positive effect on how parents perceived their ability to manage the complexities of parenting a child with additional needs.
• Perception of parental supports –Project led to meaningful improvement in parent’s perceptions of their current support system after the program.
• Resilience and well-being – A notable improvement on overall scores on resilience and well-being scales.

The report also highlights the ripple effect of peer support, with benefits extending to support parents and Enable Ireland staff, who gained deeper insights into the lived realities of families.

One support parent, Sheila McCormack, was partnered with a mother in Galway whose child had a similar diagnosis to her son. She shared, “Being part of the peer support pilot was an amazing experience. I would 100% have benefited from support like this in the early days after my son was born. I was partnered with a parent whose young child had also been diagnosed with Down syndrome—something I went through ten years ago with my own son. I remember how overwhelming and lonely those early days were. When you first get a diagnosis, it’s a lonely, scary time. You’re dealing with a new baby, sometimes medical issues, and the emotional impact is huge. Being able to say to another parent, ‘It’s going to be ok,’ and really mean it—because you’ve lived it—that’s powerful. We’ve built a real friendship. We meet regularly and text often—just recently she asked me about summer camps my son did. It’s been amazing to be part of something that helps parents feel seen, supported, and less alone.”

Key Recommendations from the report include:

• Scaling up peer support initiatives nationally to complement existing formal service provision.
• Embedding parents in the planning and delivery of future peer support programmes.
• Conducting further research into the unique needs of parents of autistic children.

Commenting on the importance of the project, Enable Ireland CEO John O’Sullivan said, “We’re proud to have delivered this innovative project with the support of Enable Ireland CDNT staff and we’re deeply grateful to the JBDB Fund at Community Foundation Ireland and The TK Maxx and Homesense Foundation for making this project possible. The next steps in moving this forward are currently being planned and it is hoped that this is the beginning of a national roll out of this initiative to other Children’s Disability Network Teams which will commence initially on a phased basis.”