There are few measures of pain for people with limited ability to communicate. Eight parents of adults with a known learning disability and associated physical health complaint were interviewed to explore their experience of identifying and managing the pain felt by their children. The parents did not often perceive their son or daughter to be in pain or discomfort, which was an unexpected finding given the sampling strategy. They described, however, specific ways of recognizing pain and would use a trial and error process to determine the cause. Parents had strategies for dealing with pain and reported mixed experiences of service interactions. The emerging themes can be related back to the pain literature and psychological theory. They emphasize the importance of involving parents in pain assessment and represent the first stage of research into a previously unexplored area.