Literature Review on Provision of Appropriate and Accessible ...

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observation, in-depth interviews with mothers, their children, partners,
extended family members and professionals. The authors found that
despite the development of formal support services, the importance of
assistance from <strong>Literature</strong> extended <strong>Review</strong> family on Provision continued of Appropriate to be crucial and in Accessible determining
whether mothers Support with to People intellectual with an disabilities Intellectual retained Disability custody who are of their
children. In-depth Experiencing examination Crisis Pregnancy of the support offered by family members
revealed that women relatives referred to as ‘mothers’ played the most
important role. The ‘mother’ was a non-disabled woman who provided
practical and emotional assistance and advocated on behalf of the
disabled mother and her family. If successful, the ‘mother’s’ advocacy
was found to play a crucial role in facilitating the maintenance of the
custody of the children by their birth mothers.
The ‘mothers’ who were successful in their advocacy role were accepted
by the professionals as partners in planning and providing services for
the mother with intellectual disability. The professionals seemed to be
more inclined to accept the ‘mothers’ as partners if they were the ones
who initiated contact with social services and asked for assistance while
the intellectually disabled mother was still pregnant. Professionals
seemed to identify with the ‘mother’ and viewed her as a responsible
individual who had similar views towards the ‘case’ as they had
themselves.
It also seemed to help if the disabled mother was living with the father of
the child when the ‘mother’ first contacted social services. This seemed
to indicate ‘respectability’, which the system favoured: the expectant
mother was regarded as sexually responsible, and the child was
perceived as growing up within a stable traditional family pattern.
The authors concluded that the establishment of services did not
diminish the importance of support from extended family networks.
Rather, it has influenced the kind of assistance needed from family
members, pointing to a more active advocacy role. This role involved
negotiating with service professionals as well as protecting mothers
from negative attitudes on the part of professionals and support workers
within the health, social, and child protection services. The importance of
the family support network continued to be crucial for the mothers with
intellectual disability in keeping their children.