Literature Review on Provision of Appropriate and Accessible ...

PAGE 180
with eight parents with learning disabilities - supported the view from
elsewhere (Lindsay, Michie, Baty, Smith and Miller, 1994) that people
with learning disabilities can express views consistently. The parents in
her study were <strong>Literature</strong> able to <strong>Review</strong> distinguish on Provision between of Appropriate the support and provided Accessible to them,
and what they Support wished to People was provided. with an Intellectual Disability who are
Experiencing Crisis Pregnancy
5.9 Features of effective support for parents with intellectual disability
Booth and Booth (2003) identified examples of good practice in provision
of parental support. They summarised good practice as occurring:
• Where there is a belief that with the right kind of support
parents can succeed - as opposed to what Booth and Booth
(1993) have identified as the commonly featured ‘presumption
of incompetence’ (Booth & Booth, 1993) and the resulting
‘expectation of failure’ (Watkins, 1995) found among generic
service providers.
• Where services recognise the importance of advocacy support
for parents both as ‘a defence against the risks of system abuse’
(Booth and Booth, 2003) and as a factor that will improve their
self-esteem. Nicholson (1997) found that advocacy support for
parents was rated as important by professionals but was poor in
terms of both quality and access.
• Where services have an understanding of the value and place of
specialist services: parents are known to be more comfortable to
be in settings made up of people with whom they can identify (Ely,
Wilson and Phillips, 1998; McGaw, 2000).
• Where services are open to learning from the parents: rather
than trying to fit them into a particular model, there needs to be
recognition that parents themselves are best placed to identify
their own needs.