Factors influencing the expectations of parents for their mentally retarded children.

The team asked 100 parents of kids with intellectual disability what they expected for their child’s future.

They used a short survey. Parents rated items like school, jobs, and daily living skills.

The study looked at which child or family facts best predicted higher or lower scores.

Two things stood out: child age and how long the family had used services.

Older kids and families in services longer had parents who expected more, not less.

Child IQ and severity of disability were weaker predictors.

McCarron et al. (2022) later showed that gentle, low-burden contact keeps a large share of adults with ID in a study for 11 years. Their work extends the 1993 finding: when services stay close and respectful, families stay involved and expectations can keep rising.

Klatte et al. (2025) asked Dutch speech therapists why they struggle to team up with parents. That paper sits downstream from the 1993 survey; once we know parents aim high, we still need to train staff to listen and plan together.

Prasher et al. (1995) surveyed staff beliefs about challenging behavior. Like the parent study, experience shaped views: veteran staff saw needs, not just functions. Both papers warn us that ‘time in the system’ changes minds, so check assumptions on both sides.

Before you write goals, ask parents how long they’ve been in your program. If they are new, start small and build wins. If they are veterans, pitch bigger targets—they already believe more is possible. Use Mary et al.’s stay-close tactics (short calls, flexible visits) to keep them engaged, and borrow Inge et al.’s fix: train yourself to share the pen during planning so expectations turn into shared action plans.