Parents with Intellectual Disabilities

Gwynnyth Llewellyn is Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, and Director of the Australian Family and Disability Studies Research Collaboration. Professor Llewellyn's work led to the world's first national strategy to support parents with learning difficulties and promote a healthy start to life for their young children. 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).

"This excellent collection of essays begins from the human rights approach epitomised by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ... This collection challenges policy-makers to do more and better, and provides much of the evidence to underpin such improvements." (Disability, Pregnancy & Parenthood International, 1 September 2011) "Parents With Intellectual Disabilities: Past, Present and Futures is thought provoking worth reading for those working with families with intellectual disabilities." (PsycCRITIQUES, February 2011)

• List of Contributors ixForeword xiiiSteven J.TaylorAcknowledgments xviiIntroduction 1Gwynnyth Llewellyn, Rannveig Traustadóttir, David McConnell, and Hanna Björg SigurjónsdóttirPart I Family and Community Life 151. Becoming a Mother – Becoming a Father 17Rachel Mayes and Hanna Björg Sigurjónsdóttir2. Looking Back on Their Own Upbringing 33Gwynnyth Llewellyn and David McConnell3. Family Within a Family 49Hanna Björg Sigurjónsdóttir and Rannveig Traustadóttir4. Children and Their Life Experiences 63Jytte Faureholm5. Understanding Community in the Lives of Parents with Intellectual Disabilities 79Gwynnyth Llewellyn and Marie Gustavsson6. Citizenship and Community Participation 95Brigit Mirfin-Veitch7. Parenting and Resistance: Strategies in Dealing with Services and Professionals 107Rannveig Traustadóttir and Hanna Björg SigurjónsdóttirPart II Human Services Enabling and Disabling Parents with Intellectual Disabilities 1198. Parenting Education Programs 121Maurice Feldman9. Supported Decision Making for Women with Intellectual Disabilities 137Sue McGaw and Sue Candy10. Turning Policy Into Practice 155Beth Tarleton11. Caught in the Child Protection Net 171David McConnell and Hanna Björg Sigurjónsdóttir12. Turning Rights into Realities in Québec, Canada 189Marjorie Aunos, Laura Pacheco, and Katherine Moxness13. Supporting Mothers’ Community Participation 205David McConnell and Gwynnyth Llewellyn14. Advocacy for Change: “The Final Tool in the Toolbox?” 225Linda Ward and Beth TarletonConclusion: Taking Stock and Looking to the Future 241David McConnell, Gwynnyth Llewellyn, Rannveig Traustadóttir and Hanna Björg SigurjónsdóttirIndex 263