"Parents with cognitive difficulties and their children: caregiving behavior, child development, risk-factors and interventions"
Docent Tommie Forslund, SUF Resource Center, Region Uppsala, and Department of Psychology, Stockholm University

Abstract:
Families headed by parents with cognitive difficulties, including intellectual disability (ID), autism and ADHD – like families in general – are highly heterogeneous: while some parents and children thrive, others struggle. Yet, families headed by parents with cognitive difficulties are more vulnerable on the group-level: the parents have an elevated risk for caregiving problems; the children for suboptimal development; and the families for child out-of-home placements. These families hence tend to need more support than other families, and the importance of evidence-based support is further highlighted by the United Nations conventions on the rights of the child (CRC) and the rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD). Yet, researchers and practitioners alike have highlighted that there is insufficient knowledge about these families, including key aspects of the parents’ caregiving behaviour, central domains of the children’s development, and about factors that convey resilience and risk for these families. Furthermore, there is limited access to evidence-based methods for support, making it difficult to provide effective support adapted to these families’ needs.

Taking stock of the available international research, and drawing from the presenter’s own research, the presentation therefore focuses on key caregiving behaviour among parents with cognitive difficulties (e.g., caregiver sensitivity, mentalization), and important domains of child development (e.g., attachment quality, psychosocial adaptation). Going beyond the parents’ cognitive difficulties per se, the presentation also covers research on contextually based factors that contributes to explaining variations in caregiving and child development for these families (e.g., parental experiences of trauma, socioeconomical disadvantage). Finally, the presentation outlines methods for intervention and support to families headed by parents with cognitive difficulties, drawing from international research, the presenters research, and developmental work from Region Uppsala, Sweden. This work, which emphasizes prevention, early and continuous support, and holistic approaches, includes adapted, evidence-based parenting support, compensatory support, and inter-agency cooperation.

Presented at WAIMH 2024 Interim World Congress
June 6th, 2024 Tampere, Finland