Parenting with intellectual disability

A growing number of adults with intellectual disability aspire to be parents. The research is conclusive; intellectual disability per se is not a barrier to parenting. Parents with intellectual disability do as well as their non-disabled peers when they are appropriately supported. However like other families in vulnerable contexts when left under-resourced and reliant on discriminatory and/or unsafe support they are highly susceptible to factors that place children at risk. Drawing on international research, this chapter will provide an overview of current knowledge about parents with intellectual disability and their children. The chapter uses a broad definition of intellectual disability which captures two groups of parents. The first is those that were assessed as having intellectual disability as a child and report being in a special class or having classroom support while at school. The other group are those who do not identify as having intellectual disability. This may be because they have never had a formal diagnosis or were not told about it as a child.