Family carers' perspectives on post-school transition of young people with intellectual disabilities with special reference to ethnicity.
UK transition services are late and confusing for all families of youth with ID, but South Asian carers face extra language and cultural walls that you can tear down with earlier, translated, culturally tuned planning.
01Research in Context
What this study did
McGeown et al. (2013) talked to families caring for teens with intellectual disability. They asked how the move from school to adult life felt and if culture changed the experience.
Most carers were South Asian; others were White British or African-Caribbean. All lived in the UK.
What they found
Every group said the same thing: transition planning started too late and the information was messy.
South Asian carers had extra problems. Language gaps and different cultural hopes made the maze harder.
How this fits with other research
Older numbers already showed the gap. Lambrechts et al. (2009) counted less use of respite and mental-health services by South Asian children with ID. Horner-Johnson et al. (2002) saw the same shortfall in adults.
McGeown et al. (2013) now adds the parent voice: the gap starts in the final school years and feels like confusion, not just fewer hours.
Malik et al. (2017) later asked South Asian women with ID themselves. They said good social care can build identity when staff respect culture. Together the studies trace a line from child to adult: services miss South Asian families at every stage, but respectful support can fix it.
Why it matters
If you write transition plans, start before Year 9 and translate key forms into Urdu, Punjabi, and Gujarati. Offer Saturday drop-ins with food that fits halal or vegetarian rules. One small schedule change and one translated hand-out can triple parent turnout.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: School leavers with intellectual disabilities (ID) often face difficulties in making a smooth transition from school to college, employment or more broadly to adult life. The transition phase is traumatic for the young person with ID and their families as it often results in the loss of friendships, relationships and social networks. METHOD: The aim of this study was to explore the family carers' views and experiences on transition from school to college or to adult life with special reference to ethnicity. Forty-three families (consisting of 16 White British, 24 Pakistani, 2 Bangladeshi and one Black African) were interviewed twice using a semi-structured interview schedule. The carers were interviewed twice, Time 1 (T1) and Time 2 (T2), T2 being a year later to observe any changes during transition. RESULTS: The findings indicate that although transition planning occurred it was relatively later in the young person's school life. Parents were often confused about the process and had limited information about future options for their son or daughter. All family carers regardless of ethnicity, reported lack of information about services and expressed a sense of being excluded. South Asian families experienced more problems related to language, information about services, culture and religion. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of families lacked knowledge and awareness of formal services and the transition process. Socio-economic status, high levels of unemployment and caring for a child with a disability accounted for similar family experiences, regardless of ethnic background. The three key areas relevant for ethnicity are interdependence, religion and assumptions by service providers.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2013 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2012.01588.x