‘Normal people can have a child but disability can't’: the experiences of mothers with mild learning disabilities who have had their children removed

Abstract

Accessible summary People with learning disabilities might have their children taken from their care. If they do, what then happens to the parents? I talked to nine mums who had their children taken away from their care. They told me about what this was like and how they felt. This research gives advice to people (particularly professional people) about how to work better with mums who have had their children removed. It also shows that sometimes it is difficult for people with learning disabilities to know their rights and say what they think. AbstractThere is a recognised risk of parents with learning disabilities having their children removed. Little research has investigated the impact of this on these parents. This article looks at the perceptions of nine mothers with mild learning disabilities and their experiences having had their children removed. Interview data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Findings reveal the struggles mothers with learning disabilities faced being ‘suitable mother’ – including presumed incompetence and scrutiny of parenting. Participants' responses to having had their children removed are looked at and support reviewed. Finally issues of power were highlighted throughout Participants' accounts and the impact of this is discussed. Clinical implications indicate areas for service improvement.

Is it possible to use interpretative phenomenological analysis in research with people who have intellectual disabilities?

“…Sixteen papers were rated as “acceptable” (Anslow, ; Brown & Beail, ; Dysch, Chung, & Fox, ; Gould & Dodd, ; Kenyon, Beail, & Jackson, ; MacMahon et al, ; Malik, Unwin, Larkin, Kroese, & Rose, ; McRitchie, McKenzie, Quayle, Harlin, & Neumann, ; Mitchell, Clegg, & Furniss, ; Monteleone & Forrester‐Jones, ; Newberry, Martin, & Robbins, ; Robinson, Escopri, Stenfert Kroese, & Rose, ; Rushbrooke, Murray, & Townsend, ; Shewan, McKenzie, Quayle, & Crawley, ; Sullivan et al, ; Wilson et al, ). All of these papers subscribed to the theoretical principles of IPA.…”

“…of the papers investigated the experiences of parents with intellectual disabilities(Baum & Burns, 2007;Gould & Dodd, 2014;Shewan et al, 2014;Wilson et al, 2013). Seven of the studies explored the experience of receiving psychological therapy(Anslow, 2013;Lewis et al, 2016;MacDonald et al, 2003;MacMahon et al, 2015;Merriman & Beail, 2009;Roscoe et al, 2016;.…”

The Challenges of Safety and Community Integration for Vulnerable Individuals

“…Although increased community involvement is assumed to entail a degree of risk as detailed by aforementioned research (e.g., [31][32][33][34]), a number of community stakeholders identified social isolation as a major risk due to a lack of community participation. Although some of this risk may be attributed to geographical location, much is due to social factors.…”

“…Snyder and colleagues [30] termed people's feelings of decreased self-worth in being part of the community as "devaluation", and in their review of literature on the needs of people with dementia, van der Roest et al [31] identified that the most frequently reported needs of people with dementia are to be accepted and respected as they are, which is not necessarily realistic in terms of being safe and secure in the community. Indeed, there is a plethora of literature focusing on the stigmatic and prejudiced attitudes towards people with an intellectual disability or dementia (e.g., [32][33][34][35]) which undoubtedly contributes to diminished feelings of safety and inclusion in the community.…”

“It's good, they're like me; the same but different.” An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the identities of women with down's syndrome

“…Mothers with ID frequently report being treated as children, despite being parents, and their abilities are frequently compared to others (Gould & Dodd, 2014). They are often assumed to be incompetent and the result of this was summed up in a quote from research by Gould and Dodd (2014); "normal people can have a child but disability can't." Further, mothers with ID reported never expecting to be exclusively responsible for their child's care (Mayes, Llewellyn, & McConnell, 2011).…”