Background: Advancements in medicine have increased the life expectancy of the people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. The hypothesis is that as parents get older, they worry about no longer being there for their child. This paper explores the extent to which the experiences of older parents may differ from that of younger…

Background: Mothers of young adults with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities that live at home are less likely to be on the radar of formal services. We explored the experience of these mothers over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A qualitative study using three case studies. Transcripts were analysed using Interpretative…

Background: Young adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and co-occurring mental health conditions (IDD-MH) experience significant mental health disparities. Barriers to services include transportation and stigma associated with services. Peer mentoring (PM) may be one solution to these barriers. Methods: We conducted exploratory…

This study of the haptic exploratory strategies used by nine children with visual impairments and additional disabilities when interacting with portable and freely manipulable objects found that a broader approach to assessment and analysis is required than is used with typically developing children. An "adaptive-tasks" approach is proposed as a…

Analysis of questionnaires completed by 257 parents of children with multiple disabilities (of which 25 had previously substantiated maltreatment reports) on perceptions of stress and burden of care found no relationship between a history of child maltreatment and currently perceived stress levels. (DB)

In this German study, 317 parents of children with hearing impairments and additional disabilities completed both the Parenting Stress Index and an additional questionnaire on demographics and related information. Analysis showed consistently high stress scores in the Child Domain, whereas the Parent Domain showed only a slight tendency toward…

The study, using qualitative research methods with six families with severely or multiply disabled adopted children, found that interactions with school, medical, and other personnel were extremely stressful for all families, as were medical crises, difficulties in accessing appropriate services, and adolescents' behavior problems. Effective…

A study using three domains of the short form of the Parental Stress Index examined parental stress in 184 hearing mothers of young children with hearing impairments. Mothers demonstrated significantly less parental distress than a normative, hearing group. Predictors of stress included frequency of hassles, social support, annual family income,…

Content analysis was used to evaluate diary entries of six adolescents with physical and cognitive disabilities. Themes concerning daily stress-coping phenomena were identified including time and task management, awareness of limitations caused by disability, and intense, yet naive, concern about boy-girl relationships. (DB)

This study found that 51 mothers of children (aged 8-87 months) with visual impairments experienced more stress than did 47 mothers of typical children, particularly in areas involving the children's behavior and when the children had multiple disabilities. The major resource for the families was the availability of social support. (Contains…

This study investigated the differential effectiveness of assertiveness and problem-solving training on 28 dually diagnosed (mild mental retardation and mental disorders) patients' adaptive social behavior, distress and psychiatric symptoms, anger control, and problem-solving coping skills. Improvements resulted from combined assertiveness and…

A retrospective review examined characteristics of 13 families involved in a community-based assessment and treatment program for children and youth with behavioral and emotional disturbance in association with mental retardation. Principles of stress theory and family systems theory are examined and applied to the particular stressors in families…