Background: Transition to adulthood is an important time for young people and may be a particularly challenging time for people with intellectual disabilities. However, there has been little research in the UK regarding the experiences of parents who have son or daughter with an intellectual disability transitioning to adulthood. Method: The study…

Background: This study looked to investigate the sometimes conscious and sometimes intuitive decision-making processes of Intensive Interaction practitioners. More specifically, this study set out to develop a rich description of how practitioners make judgements when developing a dynamic repertoire of Intensive Interaction strategies with people…

Background: Raising a child with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) presents many challenges and learning experiences for parents and other family members. There has been limited research to date on Irish parents' experience of raising a child with ASC. The aim of this study was to describe the experience of a sample of Irish parents who have a…

Background: A diagnosis of childhood autism can be an extremely stressful experience for parents, but little is known concerning paternal perceptions of the process. Methods: This study investigated father perspectives on a diagnosis of autism, through an online survey. Results: An analysis of 184 replies to an open-ended question identified the…

Parents of children with developmental disabilities (autism or intellectual disabilities) are more susceptible to stress and have a greater burden of adversity than other parents. Their well-being and satisfaction greatly depend on the system's response of finding them formal support and the help they need. This study proposes an interpretive…

A total of 15 adult siblings of people who have a learning disability were interviewed in relation to their future wishes and expectations of care giving. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyse transcripts from the interviews where it was demonstrated that futures planning remains an area of difficulty for families of…

This article draws on a doctoral study carried out across seven counties in England which focused on twelve parents' experiences of carrying out the role of a "suitable person" ("SP") by managing a direct payment for an adult child (living in her/his own home) who has severe learning disabilities, autism and very complex…