Parents' experiences of raising adolescents with intellectual or developmental disabilities

Parents of children with intellectual or developmental disabilities have unique challenges in navigating the developmental period of adolescence. The present study explored the experiences of parents connected with disability services throughout the island of Ireland of parenting their child during adolescence.

Five focus groups were conducted with twenty-five parents of adolescents and young adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Parents were asked open-ended questions about their experiences of raising their adolescent child. Transcripts of the focus groups were coded using reflexive thematic analysis.

On the journey from childhood to adolescence parents have to manage a number of different stressors with and for their child. These occur at societal, service provision, familial, and personal levels, with each stressor interacting with others to create vicious circles of struggle.

Parents' struggles are multi-fold, and are not discreet entities that can be separated. The struggle is dynamic and continuous.