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Home‐based Programmes for Parents with Intellectual Disabilities: Lessons from Practice
Author(s) -
Llewellyn Gwynnyth,
McConnell David,
Russo Domenica,
Mayes Rachel,
Honey Anne
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1468-3148
pISSN - 1360-2322
DOI - 10.1046/j.1468-3148.2002.00116.x
Subject(s) - thematic analysis , presentation (obstetrics) , intellectual disability , home education , psychology , medical education , best practice , challenging behaviour , parent education , nursing , medicine , pedagogy , developmental psychology , qualitative research , psychiatry , sociology , political science , social science , law , radiology
Background Increasing emphasis is being given to carrying out parent education programmes at home with widely reported benefits. The purpose of this paper is to draw lessons for practitioners from implementing a randomized trial of a home‐based parent education programme for parents with intellectual disabilities that addressed child health and safety issues. Methods A thematic analysis of case notes and parent feedback from the 45 parent participants in this programme was conducted prior to two team sessions to discuss the findings. Results Programme‐specific issues included format, content and presentation style. Themes relevant to home‐based programmes for parents with intellectual disabilities more generally included the suitability of the home as a learning environment; identifying parent priorities; parent readiness to learn; and parent control (or lack of) over the home environment. In addition, practice points for parent educators were identified. Conclusions The home environment benefits both teaching and learning, however, as this paper highlights careful consideration needs to be given to each parent‐learner's home situation. We recommend that in future the processes involved in home‐based programmes be reported alongside programme outcomes.