The society of today puts great demands on personnel in early childhood education and care (ECEC) since expectations are that personnel can support children with a wide variety of needs. Research indicate that personnel in ECEC lack knowledge regarding children with special educational needs (Hannås & Hanssen, 2016) and furthermore personnel might lack knowledge regarding inclusive practice (Lundqvist et al., 2016). For ensuring that children receive appropriate and inclusive support in regular educational settings collaboration between professionals with different competencies is a necessity. In Finland, a common collaborative approach is that early childhood special education teachers (ECSETs) deliver consultative support to personnel in ECEC (Heiskanen & Viitala, 2019). The aim of this paper is to gain an understanding of how ECSETs experience their consultative role in ECEC. We have formulated two research questions that guided the study. The research questions are as follows; `How do ECSETs experience the prevailing conditions surrounding the consultative role´ and `How do ECSETS experience the implementation of consultation and the use of consultation strategies´. For present research, a multiple-case study design was chosen since it is an effective methodology to study multifaceted issues in real-world settings (Yin, 2014). Data is collected through semi structured group interviews and ten respondents from four different municipalities are divided into three interview groups. First, the case analysis was written as a narrative report for each case followed by a cross-case analysis where shared patterns and themes were searched for (Yin, 2014). The in-depth description of each case is presented as three narratives; (a) frustrated knowledge sharer, (b) adapted and collaborative quick-fixers, and (c) satisfied reflection supporters. By comparing patterns through the lens of theory (Abbott, 1988) and earlier research two themes addressing the research question become visible: poor conditions – weak jurisdiction for conducting the consultative task and balancing between quick fixes and the use of reflection as consultation strategy. The chapter concludes that the prevailing practical conditions and a weak jurisdiction hinder high quality consultations. Furthermore, consultation is not clearly stated or implemented in policy documents or in local work descriptions nor is it clearly communicated in the ambits that ECETS operate in.

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