"They don't think I can cope, because I have got a learning disability ": Experiences of stigma in the lives of parents with learning disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Parents with learning disabilities report facing a widely held 'presumption of incompetence', placing them under pressure to prove their parenting competence. In collaboration with a learning disability theatre company, an inclusive research methodology explored experiences of parenting with learning disabilities, with a specific focus on the operation of stigma in parents' lives. METHOD: Interviews with 17 mothers and 5 fathers who self-identified as having learning disabilities were co-facilitated by learning-disabled co-researchers, and analysed using thematic analysis, with input from people with learning disabilities. RESULTS: Thematic analysis generated four key themes; (1) positions of powerlessness, (2) assumptions of incompetence, (3) challenging assumptions and proving competence and (4) claiming power. CONCLUSION: Parents reported experiencing stigma and disempowerment within their networks, yet continued to embrace their valued parental identity and drew strength from involvement with self-advocacy organisations. The research informed arts-based performance pieces and resources aimed at training professionals and raising public awareness.

'We want to be parents like everybody else': stories of parents with learning disabilities.

OBJECTIVES: This project represents a unique collaboration between creative and research processes using an inclusive qualitative methodology. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews with five mothers and three fathers with learning disabilities were led by learning disabled researchers, and thematic analysis conducted with input from people with learning disabilities. RESULTS: Five main themes are presented; (1) subjective experiences of becoming parents, (2) perceptions that other people assume people with learning disabilities are incompetent parents, resulting in a need to prove worthiness, (3) experiences of services, (4) overcoming 'knock-backs' and (5) support for the rights of other parents. An additional subgroup analysis is presented: fathers feel 'left out'. CONCLUSION: Parents felt criticized by others, who they felt questioned their competence as parents unfairly by comparison to those without learning disabilities. The collaboration between academic research and an inclusive theater group allowed dissemination of parents' stories to wider public, and professional, audiences through creative performances.