BACKGROUND:
Caring for a child with a neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) impacts many aspects of caregivers’ lives, including their general health and everyday lives. Context-specific data is paramount in informing a country’s policies and guidelines. In the Nigerian context, a lack of data specific to rural parts of Nigeria and understanding of the disorders may contribute to children with NDDs and their families continuing to experience stigma, neglect and difficult caregiving experiences. This study aims to explore caregivers’ experiences in a rural Nigerian context and to understand how caring for a child with an NDD affects their lives.

METHODS:
Ten caregivers of children with NDDs attending the RA International School’s (RAIS) Learning Support Unit (LSU) on Bonny Island, Nigeria, were interviewed using a semi- structured interview format with open-ended questions. A thematic qualitative analysis was carried out supported by the software MAXQDA.

RESULTS:
Caregivers had incomplete understanding and difficulty in understanding their child’s diagnosis. They reported facing various challenges in caring for their children, such as stigma, educating their children, caring for their children when they are sick as well as travelling with their children. Caring for their child affected various domains of the caregivers’ lives, such as their relationships with others, social life, work and job opportunities, hobbies as well as their physical, mental and emotional health. Their main support systems included faith-based organisations, RAIS and their families.

CONCLUSIONS:
Findings suggest that improved health service delivery and additional support interventions such as parental support groups and stigma interventions for caregivers of children with NDD could be beneficial. Additional information sessions with parents to help them understand their child’s diagnosis may also be helpful and could further improve the experiences of caregivers of children with NDD.