Parenting in the Lives of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities

The questions of childbearing and parenting in the life of persons with intellectual disabilities are very marginal both in research and professional practice. Although international guidelines emphasize the total social participation and self-determination of persons with disabilities, protectiveness is more common at a local level in connection with sexuality and childbearing. Parenting capacity involves the complex interplay between children and their parents, home and community environments, and family and community services. Hence, our intention is to concentrate on these relationships and to conduct interactive pair interviews with people with intellectual disabilities and relevant people in their lives. In our research we are curious about the opportunities and obstacles in the lives of persons with intellectual disabilities to becoming parents in a variety of living conditions, as well as the characteristics of the parenting roles of women and men with intellectual disabilities.