The first year: the support needs of parents caring for a child with an intellectual disability

Abstract

This study informs health professionals about how to provide holistic, timely support to parents of children with intellectual disabilities in the first year of life. There is an urgent need to review how nurses and midwives can provide relevant support that is responsive to parents' needs.

The need to know: The information needs of parents of infants with an intellectual disability—a qualitative study

“…The larger study identified several facets of support need for parents caring for infants with an intellectual disability (Douglas et al., ). The results presented here represent detail of the analysis of parents’ information needs specifically, which emerged as a significant factor for parents.…”

“…The larger study identified several facets of support need for parents caring for infants with an intellectual disability (Douglas et al, 2016).…”

“…This paper draws on the findings of a larger study that was conducted in Victoria, Australia and has been reported elsewhere (Douglas et al, 2016). The study aimed to explore the support needs of parents caring for a child with an intellectual disability in the first year of life.…”

“…In this study, intellectual disability was defined as a disability characterised by significant limitations in adaptive behaviour and intellectual functioning that was evident during the child's development phase (American Association of Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities 2013). The importance of information for parents of an infant with an intellectual disability emerged as a major thematic consideration in a larger qualitative study, which has been previously reported (Douglas, Redley, & Ottmann, 2016). The purpose of this article was to describe the information needs of parents as they care for their infant with an intellectual disability in the first year of life.…”

“Yeah that Made a Big Difference!”: The Importance of the Relationship between Health Professionals and Fathers Who Have a Child with Down Syndrome

“…As fathers are less likely to utilize non-profit support or advice organizations (Skotko et al 2011), the role for health professionals, as the frequent first port of call for fathers seeking support and information is particularly crucial. Although there have been several key studies exploring parent's experiences of having a child with a disability (Douglas et al 2016;Pelchat et al 2003), this study stands out for two particular reasons. Firstly, it focused on Down syndrome.…”