Intellectual Disability
Intellectual disability comprises problems affecting general mental abilities that majorly affect intellectual functioning and adaptive functioning.
Resources Available for Parents Who Have Children With Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities
Intellectual disability is one of the most common developmental disabilities in the United States. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides several guidelines that regulate early intervention and special education services to such children. Immediately a child is diagnosed with an intellectual disability, it is recommended that the parents get in touch with an early intervention system within their community (Rosenberg et al., 2017). This is an IDEA-mandated system that is designed to aid children and parents of children with intellectual disabilities until their third birthdays. Parents get referred to early intervention services by their pediatricians and other healthcare facilities within their community.
Several organizations, such as Understood.org, which is made up of fifteen non-profit organizations, play a vital role in aiding families and children with intellectual disabilities. These organizations provide useful and well-researched information that greatly aids parents living with children with intellectual disabilities. The Centre for Parent Information and Resources has a list of parent centers within each state that aid and train parents who have children with intellectual and learning disabilities (Deb et al., 2020). This and other key platforms provide critical information and resources that greatly aid parents living with children with disabilities.
How Social Workers Can Talk With Joel’s Parents to Assure Them There Is Hope for Joel Living a Meaningful Life
Social workers should engage Joel’s parents in all issues related to their son’s care. This can be done by regular visitations to Joel’s home by the social workers to share with his parents and constantly reassure them that their son can still lead a normal and independent life. The social workers should also encourage Joel’s parents to identify their son’s strengths and abilities and aim to perfect them. This can greatly change Joel’s dad’s perception of his lastborn. In the case where Joel is athletically gifted, a collaboration between the social workers and his parents can greatly aid him in improving. The social workers should also be ready to listen and address any issues raised by Joel’s parents without any form of judgment or discrimination.
Locating Policy Information
Organizations such as The Arc have made it their mission to promote and protect the rights of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and engage in active support to enable the inclusion of these individuals into their communities throughout their lifetimes (Luckasson et al., 2017). They do this by actively fighting for the rights and inclusion of people living with intellectual disability and their families. Grassroots advocacy and other initiatives aimed at advocating for the inclusion and assimilation of people with intellectual disabilities by this organization are important in securing the future of these individuals.
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The social workers should point out to Joel’s parents that marriage, despite their son’s condition, is a possibility. Before entering into marriage, the social workers should point out to Joel’s parents that a good relationship between them and their son is critical in ensuring healthy relationships later on. They should also inform the parents that though there are no general rules forbidding people with intellectual disabilities from marrying, the court system can take away that right in the event it is determined that the individual is incapable of entering into a marriage contract (Whittle et al., 2018). The issue of heredity of developmental conditions that can be passed on should also be addressed. Genetic counseling should be emphasized in the event that these individuals want to have children.
References
Deb, S., Retzer, A., Roy, M., Acharya, R., Limbu, B., & Roy, A. (2020). The effectiveness of parent training for children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analyses. BMC Psychiatry, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02973-7
Luckasson, R., Ford, M. E., McMillan, E. D., Misilo, F. M., & Nygren, M. A. (2017). Intellectual disability policy as developed, expressed, and evaluated in AAIDD/the ARC joint statements: The role of organization position statements. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 55(4), 269–275. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-55.4.269
Reid, S. M., Meehan, E. M., Arnup, S. J., & Reddihough, D. S. (2018). Intellectual disability in Cerebral Palsy: A population-based retrospective study. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 60(7), 687–694. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.13773
Rosenberg, S. A., Elbaum, B., Rosenberg, C. R., Kellar-Guenther, Y., & McManus, B. M. (2017). From flawed design to misleading information. American Journal of Evaluation, 39(3), 350–363. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214017732410
Whittle, C., & Butler, C. (2018). Sexuality in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities: A meta-ethnographic synthesis of qualitative studies. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 75, 68–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2018.02.008
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Question 
Intellectual Disability
Suzanne was 43 when she received the surprise news that she was pregnant again. While she was glad to finally have a son, along with her 23-year-old twin daughters Jessica and Megan, Suzanne felt a sense of loss when she learned that Joel had an intellectual disability (ID). Joe’s dad, Tom, was proud of his daughter’s academic and athletic accomplishments but felt uneasy relating to Joel. Tom kept quiet as his wife Suzanne disclosed her anxiety about helping Joel navigate through life. Somehow, envisioning Joel participating in Special Olympics in the future, rather than high school and college sports, left a hole in Suzanne and Tom’s hearts. To prepare for an inevitable future, Suzanne decided to volunteer at a local sheltered workshop and day program where she observed other children with intellectual disabilities enjoy horseback riding and work with their hands. One day, Suzanne overheard the parents of two 23-year-old young adults with ID discuss how their children wanted to get married and have children. This conversation made Suzanne feel very uncomfortable, and she didn’t know how to broach this subject with Tom.
1. What resources exist for parents who have children with intellectual or developmental disabilities?
2. How can social workers talk with Joel’s parents to assure them there is hope for Joel to live a meaningful life?
3. Where might Joel’s parents and local social workers locate policy information to help them advocate for Joel in the future?
4. How would social workers respond to the idea of young adults with ID wanting to get married and raise children?