Parent education for adults with intellectual disability: A review and suggestions for future research

Abstract

Objective: This review evaluates research regarding parent education interventions for adults with an intellectual disability (ID).

Methods: Electronic database and ancestral searches identified 13 studies published between 1994 and 2012. The results of these studies are discussed in relation to (a) participants and settings; (b) general intervention procedures, (c) programmed antecedent stimuli to occasion parent behaviour; (d) targeted behaviours; (e) programmed consequence(s) for parent behaviour; and (f) the presence of generalization and maintenance strategies.

Results: In the majority of reviewed studies, intervention components lacked operational definitions appropriate for replication and direct observation of child outcomes were often not included as a dependent variable. Also, most interventions did not include steps to promote the generalization of skills to different stimuli or settings although the majority assessed the maintenance of targeted skills.

Conclusion: In consideration of these findings, several relevant areas for future research are proposed.

Keywords: Cognitive disability; intellectual disability; parent education; parent intervention; parent training.