Training Parents of Children With Intellectual Disabilities: Trends, Issues, and Future Directions

Description

This review summarizes selected studies involving education and training programs designed to improve parents’ ability to provide research-based support and intervention for their children with intellectual disabilities. First, the authors highlight stressors and obstacles associated with parenting a child with intellectual disability and note the relative paucity of existing research in light of the increased risk of stress, anxiety, and depression reported for this population. Next, the authors describe recent trends and issues and elucidate gaps in the literature that warrant additional research. Ultimately, this paper highlights the growing need for interventions that include both behavioral and psychosocial components to better address needs of families of children with intellectual disability. Specifically, the authors conclude that there exists a need for future research on culturally sensitive parent training as well as on potentially efficient group-based parent education programs for families of children with moderate to profound intellectual disability.

Citation