Evidence-Based Early Home Visiting for Mothers and Parents With Intellectual Disability: Home Visitor Perceptions and Practices.

Pettingell et al. (2022) sent a survey to home visitors who work with parents with intellectual disability. They asked how staff teach, what they know, and what help they get from their agency.

The team wanted to see why some visitors do great work and others struggle. They looked at worker training, boss support, and site rules.

Staff skills were all over the map. Some visitors used plain language and slow steps. Others used long words and rushed.

Workers who felt sure of themselves and had clear site rules used more proven methods. Knowledge and boss help mattered more than years on the job.

Leung et al. (2011) showed moms with ID do better after home visits, but moms without ID still pull ahead. The new survey hints that uneven staff skill may explain the gap.

Llewellyn et al. (2003) proved ten short home lessons can teach safety skills that stick. L et al. now show those lessons only happen when staff feel ready and backed.

Feldman et al. (2025) added prenatal BST before birth. Their tight one-to-one coaching fits the hands-on style the survey staff said they want to use more often.

If you run home programs, check staff confidence and site supports first. Add short BST booster sessions and plain-language checklists. Small fixes here can lift parent skills and maybe keep families together.