Wow! eBook
Parents with Intellectual Disabilities: Past, Present and Futures
Author(s): Gwynnyth Llewellyn
- Publisher: JW
- Publication Date: 10 May 2010
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 296 pages
- ISBN-10: 0470772948
- ISBN-13: 9780470772942
Book Description
- Presents a unique, pan-disciplinary overview of this growing field of study
- Offers a human rights approach to disability and family life
- Informed by the newly adopted UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006)
- Provides comprehensive research-based knowledge from leading figures in the field of intellectual disability
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Parents With Intellectual Disabilities: Past, Present and Futures is thought provoking worth reading for those working with families with intellectual disabilities.” (PsycCRITIQUES, February 2011)
Review
―Dr Dick Sobsey, University of Alberta, Canada
‘The birth of a new child tends to be a happy event, but if parents are intellectually disabled it is likely to be associated with “danger” and a case for child protection agencies. The point of departure of this book, however, is the 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 23, on the elimination of discrimination related to marriage and family. The book discusses the experiences of parents with intellectual disabilities and their children, and also supports such parental training and the role of extended families. It is a very welcome contribution to a topic that tends to be negatively oversimplified.’
―Jan Tøssebro, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
‘This is a unique exploration – from an international and multi-disciplinary perspective – of the lives and experiences of parents with intellectual disabilities, their children and the services that both enable and disable them in their parenting. Its combination of scholarly research and “insider” accounts makes it essential reading for researchers and practitioners around the world.’
―Professor Dorothy Atkinson, The Open University, UK
‘Parents with Intellectual Disabilities is a thoughtful and comprehensive collection by an international team that blazes new trails for inclusion and equality for adults with intellectual disabilities. By asserting that forming a family and parenting are pathways both to social value and personal fulfilment, it challenges us to question our own values and assumptions about adults with intellectual disabilities as parents. An essential text for a full understanding of disability in the world of today and tomorrow.’
―Ivan Brown, Ph.D., Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare, University of Toronto, Canada
‘A rare achievement, this book integrates clear-eyed analyses of the social circumstances faced by people with intellectual disability who parent or long to parent, strong research on critical aspects of this neglected human rights issue, and creative guidelines for improved practice. We may believe that Eugenics is over, long discredited. But what is its legacy in the lives of people with intellectual disability in relationships, pregnancy, decisions about parenting, and actual parenting? What do their children say? And how can we overcome the remaining barriers of history?
‘This must-read book explores the experiences of mothers and fathers with intellectual disability and their children, contextualized within their communities. It investigates the systems and services that do or do not support successful parenting, and explores modern complexities of gender, terminology, citizenship, public policy, and human rights.’
―Ruth Luckasson, Distinguished Professor of Education, University of New Mexico, US
From the Inside Flap
This authoritative book examines the very latest research and scholarship on the subject. Throughout the text, theory and research are linked to practice. The contributors provide a clear set of principles outlining how to work with parents with intellectual disabilities in ways that recognize family strengths and promote child and family well-being. Chapters are written by experts currently engaged either in academic study of the topic or as researcher-practitioners in the field of intellectual disabilities. Each one provides a brief overview of the development of ideas and literature pertinent to the chapter’s topic and concludes with principles drawn from the research to inform practice.
Written to reflect the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations, 2006), the book provides a crucial reference for students, practitioners and professionals engaged in this area.
From the Back Cover
This authoritative book examines the very latest research and scholarship on the subject. Throughout the text, theory and research are linked to practice. The contributors provide a clear set of principles outlining how to work with parents with intellectual disabilities in ways that recognize family strengths and promote child and family well-being. Chapters are written by experts currently engaged either in academic study of the topic or as researcher-practitioners in the field of intellectual disabilities. Each one provides a brief overview of the development of ideas and literature pertinent to the chapter’s topic and concludes with principles drawn from the research to inform practice.
Written to reflect the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations, 2006), the book provides a crucial reference for students, practitioners and professionals engaged in this area.
About the Author
Rannveig Traustadóttir is Professor and Director of the Centre for Disability Studies in the School of Social Sciences, University of Iceland. She has been one of the leaders in developing Disability Studies as a scholarly field in the Nordic countries and is the former president of The Nordic Network on Disability Research.
David McConnell is Professor in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta. Professor McConnell has been conducting research in the field of parents and parenting with intellectual disabilities in Australia for over 15 years. He is now expanding his research program in Canada.
Hanna Björg Sigurjónsdóttir is an Assistant Professor at the University of Iceland. She has conducted collaborative research with parents with intellectual disabilities for 15 years. Together with Rannveig Traustadttir she has published Contested Families: Parents with Intellectual Disabilities and Their Children (1998) and Invisible Families: Mothers with Intellectual Disabilities and Their Children (2001).
