Select Page
Improving child and family outcomes where a parent has intellectual disability
  • Date:  Thursday, 26 May
  • Time:  12 – 2 pm AEST
  • Host:  Morrie O’ Connor, ASID Chair, Queensland Division
  • Presenters:
    • Susan Collings, Phd, MPH, BA(Hons)
    • Catherine Wade, Phd, MPsych, Grad Dip App Child Psych, BBsc
    • Margaret Spence, Phd, BSW, Bhy, Cert Nursing

 

 

 

Click image to view and print flyer.

The key message from more than 60 years research on the topic of parenting with intellectual disability is that these parents can learn parenting skills when support matches their needs. However, they continue to face poorer outcomes and evidence shows this relates to a complex interplay of social disadvantage, social stigma and discrimination. High rates of child removal – up to 3 in every 5 children  are an alarming marker of the consequences of this, and recognised to be higher for this group than any other. Despite extensive research on what systemic changes are needed avoid these outcomes, there has been limited targeted policy action in Australia. A notable exception was the National Healthy Start Initiative (2005- 2010), to trial and evaluate new ways of working with these families and build practice competency. Sadly, the momentum has been lost over the last decade of policy inaction. Are we at a new point of change? The new 10-year national policy blueprint for child safety, the National Framework for Protecting Australian Children (2022-32) recognises children and parents with disability for the first time, and the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability has held sessions focused on parents with intellectual disability. It is critical that we do not waste any more time in putting these families front and centre on the national agenda!

This ASID webinar will address three key areas of concern relating to parents with an intellectual disability:

  1. How to get a clear picture of who they are what issues they face in the Australian context
  2. How to ensure they are not discriminated against in child protection practices
  3. How to make sure services are accessible and acceptable to these parents

Dr Susan Collings

Susan is Senior Research Fellow at the University of Sydney’s Research Centre for Children and Families and an affiliate of the Centre for Disability Research and Policy. She is the Program Lead for Disability and Child Protection research and works in partnership with Government and community organizations to improve understanding and support for vulnerable families. Susan prioritizes the use of co-design and arts-based methods so people with lived experience are meaningfully engaged in knowledge translation and practice change, particularly in the areas of child protection and disability services. Her special interest in parents with intellectual disability and their children has attracted international recognition and is reflected in highly cited publications and research grants. She is an executive member of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Development Disability (IASSIDD) Parenting Special Interest Research Group and is currently leading research to guide inclusive practices in the child protection field and to improve NDIS service integration.

Dr Catherine Wade 

Catherine is Principal Research Specialist at the Parenting Research Centre. She leads research, evaluation and analysis activities at the Centre, managing a team of research staff engaged in projects focused on evaluating the implementation and impact of initiatives aimed at improving the lives of vulnerable families across Australia and internationally. Catherine is also a Research Affiliate with the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Sydney. Her experience spans leading, conceptualising, conducting and reporting research, evidence synthesis and program evaluation, including expertise in quantitative and qualitative research and analysis of large-scale data. Catherine has over 20 years of experience conducting social policy research spanning a range of public health priority groups including parents with intellectual disability. She was Healthy Start’s national manager from 2008 to 2010 and has delivered professional training to over 1500 practitioners, in evidence-informed parenting programs for parents with learning difficulties and developed and evaluated innovative resources aimed at these parents. She was the Australian representative for six years on the Board of Management of The Association for Successful Parenting in the USA (supporting parents with learning difficulties).

Dr Margaret Spencer

Margaret is a Senior lecturer in Social Work and Social Policy, at the University of Sydney and a research affiliate with the Centre for Disability Research and Policy. She has worked with families living with disability for 4 decades and is a recognised expert and advocate for the rights of parents with intellectual disability regularly approached by legal advocates across Australia for advice on matters involving families living with disabilities and called upon to complete family assessments and to be an expert witness.in complex care matters. Margaret was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to investigate international shared parenting models and completed her PhD on parenting support assessment practices involving parents with intellectual disability. She is an executive member of the Parenting Special Interest Group International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IASSIDD).