A study involving 152 college students with deafness found students who had at least one parent with deafness and signed scored significantly higher on self-esteem measures than those with hearing parents who could or who could not sign. Overall, self-esteem scores for all respondents were high. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

This study compared 38 low-income mothers with intellectual limitations and 32 low-income mothers without intellectual limitations and found developmental delay was identified by the age of 2 years in 42% of children born to mothers with intellectual limitations and 12% of children born to the other mothers. (Author/CR)

A study retrospectively examined case notes and records of 12 families in which the mother had a documented intellectual disability, who were brought to court on child protection grounds. Findings indicate that the cumulative weight of stressful emotional, physical, and social factors, in combination with limited intellect, precipitated a crisis…

Interviews with 42 mothers with visual impairments found no significant relationship between the degree of impairment and amount of advance preparation for child care tasks, trial-and-error learning, or initial reactions to the pregnancy. Key concerns were children's safety, the extra time needed to accommodate the impairment, transportation, and…

A study interviewed 8,548 participants in the Ontario Mental Health Supplement about parental psychiatric history and childhood physical and sexual abuse. Respondents reporting a parental history of depression, mania, or schizophrenia had a two to threefold increase in the rates of physical, sexual, or any abuse. (Contains references.) (CR)

Background: The Child and Special Parenting Service provides flexible assessment, long-term domiciliary support and home-based teaching to intellectually disabled parents. It provides key coordination between the Learning Disability Service and the Children's Service with focussed parenting assessments, where issues of child care and protection…

This study identified and investigated the incidence of childhood trauma and psychopathology across a population of parents with intellectual disabilities (IDs) known to a parenting service in the United Kingdom over a 5-year period and examined the emotional and physical welfare of their children. Data were gathered from 49 parents with ID and 58…

This article describes resources for supporting parents who have developmental disabilities, including a study on the strategies of parents with disabilities, a video of a couple who moved from an institution to marriage and parenthood, a guide for supporting parents, a resource center, and an online support network. (CR)

This introductory article to a special issue on parenting by persons with intellectual disabilities discusses the need for information sharing across nations, the facilitation of political self-activism by parents with intellectual disabilities, the need for suitable support for this population, and the epidemiological data needed to promote…

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)

Reviews research from the past 15 years of the influence of physical, cognitive, or sensory disabilities on parental role functioning. Focuses on conceptual problems about the impact of chronic illness or disability on individuals and families, countering the notion that parenting skills of disabled persons are qualitatively different. (RJM)

This article discusses how clinicians can work with parents of young children with disabilities who may themselves have mental health disorders. Recommendations are provided for an initial approach to parents with mental health challenges, referral to psychiatric personnel, establishing trust and rapport, and sustaining a relationship with parents…

Offers hearing parents of deaf infants guidelines on communicating with their child based on changes that deaf mothers make in their signing when talking to their deaf baby. Guidelines focus on restricting language, sign repetition, dramatic expression, waiting for the child's attention, tapping to gain attention, and visual leading. (DB)

Elementary school staff requested and were provided with strategies for helping students and a resource guide to services for students living with substance-abusing adults.

A study was conducted to investigate the views of 40 Australian service providers on the support and service needs of parents with intellectual disabilities and to discover key issues faced by the providers. The special needs of the parents, desirable service characteristics, and constraints on service delivery are identified. (CR)