Training Parents of Children with Intellectual Disabilities: Trends, Issues, and Future Directions

This review summarizes selected studies involving education and training programs designed to improve parents’ ability to provide research-based support and intervention for their children with intellectual disabilities. First, we highlight stressors and obstacles associated with parenting a child with intellectual disability and note the relative paucity of existing research in light of the increased risk of stress, anxiety, and depression reported for this population. Next, we provide a description of recent trends and issues and attempt to elucidate gaps in the existing literature that warrant additional research effort. Ultimately, this paper highlights the growing need for interventions that include both behavioral and psychosocial components to better address needs in families of children with intellectual disability. Specifically, we conclude that there exists a need for future research on culturally sensitive parent training as well as on potentially efficient group-based parent education programs for families of children with moderate to profound intellectual disability.