Parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience a unique set of contextual challenges that may limit the effectiveness of traditional parenting interventions. Identifying effective adaptations to existing evidence-based parenting interventions to address the needs of this vulnerable population is critical for maximizing…

Research on follow-up outcomes of systemic interventions for family members with an intellectual disability is scarce. In this study, short-term and long-term follow-up outcomes of multisystemic therapy for adolescents with antisocial or delinquent behaviour and an intellectual disability (MST-ID) are reported. In addition, the role of parental…

People with intellectual impairments are recognised as having communication difficulties and even people with mild intellectual impairments can be challenged by complex language and limited literacy. The focus of this paper is parents who have learning disabilities, outlining a novel approach to support them in stressful case conference…

Advocacy can help service users both to understand their rights and choices and also to support them in resolving issues of great significance to their lives. We investigated some of the costs and outcomes of advocacy provided to parents with learning disabilities at risk of having their children taken into care. Through two workshops and a…

A secondary study was conducted within a broader National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded longitudinal study on resilience in South African mothers and children affected by HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a 24-week support group intervention…

Background: Adapted parenting support may alleviate the high levels of parenting stress experienced by many parents with intellectual disabilities. Methods: Parents with mild intellectual disabilities or borderline intellectual functioning were randomized to experimental (n = 43) and control (n = 42) conditions. Parents in both groups received…

Child neglect has negative effects throughout the life span. Although an argument for a link between intellectual disabilities and neglectful parenting can be made, this article argues for a more fine-grained view of the cognitive problems that underlie child neglect perpetration and provides evidence for a social information processing model of…

Background: Many parents with intellectual disabilities (ID) want and/or need professional guidance and support to learn skills and strategies to prevent and manage child behaviour problems. However, the available support is rarely suitable, and suitable support is rarely available. The aim of this study was to determine whether a popular…

Objectives: This article presents a Cochrane/Campbell systematic review of the evidence on the effect of parent training to support the parenting of parents with intellectual disabilities. Method: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing parent training interventions for parents with intellectual disability with usual care or with a control…

Background: This paper reviews recent research to provide an updated perspective on the effectiveness of parent training interventions for parents with intellectual disability. The degree to which these studies meet previous recommendations for future research is explored, particularly with regard to the influence of context on intervention…

Background: The purpose of this paper was to report on the results of an exploratory trial of an intensive home-based parenting programme for parents with an intellectual disability. The aim of the programme was to combine the delivery of evidence-based parent education technology for parents with an intellectual disability with two strategies…

This editorial looks at the special support needs of parents with learning difficulties in Britain in the context of the new Adoption and Children Bill, which encourages and speeds adoption. The bill is seen as a major threat to families headed by a parent with learning difficulties. It urges greater attention to providing the known and effective…

This study evaluated a home-based intervention for parents with intellectual disability to promote child health and home safety in the preschool years. The intervention improved parents' ability to recognize home dangers and to handle emergencies, increased their knowledge about illness and medicines, and increased the number of safety precautions…

Describes a study involving 29 low-income parents with learning difficulties that validated a prescriptive home-danger and safety-precaution instrument containing 14 epidemiological categories to be used in the design and evaluation of family-tailored injury prevention and safety interventions. (Author/CR)

This volume brings together 32 papers on families and mental retardation. The papers were first published in journals of the American Association on Mental Retardation and date from 1935 through 1999. The papers are divided into four units within which the papers are presented chronologically. Essays introduce each unit. The first unit,…