Parent-child interaction : Teens with mild intellectual disability

• Main Author: Lau, Wai Chung.
• Other Authors: National Institute of Education
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Sociology::Family, marriage and women
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/13740
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Parent-child interaction is important for all families, including those with disabled children Parent-child interaction is often strained most during the child's teenage years. In the case of teens with intellectual disabilities, there may be additional disability-related challenges. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of challenges faced by the mildly intellectually disabled teens and their parents in interacting with each other. Interviews of disabled teens and their parents were followed by focus group discussions of disabled and nondisabled teens respectively At the 2nd group discussion with nondisabled teens, it was found that both intellectually normal teens and mildly intellectually disabled teens go through a more or less similar journey of growing up and face similar issues in parent-child interaction. The identified strengths and weaknesses of various parent-child interaction patterns were also discussed in terms of the teens' perceptions of their parents and vice versa, the influence of physical and emotional development during the teenage years and parenting styles. Recommendations were made for parents, rehabilitation practitioners and further research.