Social outcomes in adulthood of children with intellectual impairment: evidence from a birth cohort.
Most adults with mild intellectual disability achieve jobs, marriage and parenthood, but later studies show work and mental-health supports must continue.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers followed a British birth cohort into adulthood. They tracked people with mild and severe intellectual disability. The team asked who had jobs, spouses, kids and owned homes.
What they found
Two-thirds of adults with mild ID reached these life milestones. The severe ID group had far lower success in every area.
How this fits with other research
Kirby et al. (2024) updates this picture with Swedish register data. They show only 44% of mild-ID adults ever worked and 56% had a psychiatric disorder. The numbers look worse, but the studies ask different questions. I et al. counted steady jobs, marriages and parenthood. V et al. counted any employment and mental-health diagnoses.
Gandhi et al. (2022) widen the lens to autistic adults with ID in Australia. They find most still live with family and have few friends. Their data extend I et al. by showing that adding autism further lowers inclusion, even when ID is mild.
Rutland et al. (1996) looked at older Australians with ID. They found almost no community participation. Together these papers draw a life-span arc: mild ID can lead to middle-age success, yet autism, mental-health needs or simply growing old can erode those gains.
Why it matters
Tell funders why adult services matter. Use the two-thirds success rate to justify job coaching, relationship skills and housing supports. Flag the later drops seen in Sweden and Australia to plan mental-health and aging supports before the crisis hits.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Social Policy for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) continues to evolve, but little is known about the lives to which such policies are applied. We aimed to use a prospective follow-up of a British birth cohort to identify children with mild and more severe intellectual impairment, and compare a range of social outcomes in adulthood with people in the rest of the cohort. METHOD: We used data from the MRC National Survey for Health and Development. Intellectual impairment was identified by intelligence tests and educational history. Adult outcome measures included employment and social class, education, marriage and children, home ownership, social networks and community use. RESULTS: We identified 111 people with mild intellectual impairment (2.7%) and 23 with severe intellectual impairment (0.6%) at age 15/16. By the age of 43, there were 52 people remaining in the mild impairment group and 14 in the severe impairment group. In adulthood those with intellectual impairment enjoyed contact with friends and family, and joined in informal social activities. Although the mild intellectual impairment group were less likely to attain the following social outcomes than people with normal intellectual functioning, 67% had jobs, 73% were married, 62% had children and 54% owned their own homes. 12% participated in adult education. People with more severe intellectual impairment were less likely to attain these outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: These outcomes highlight issues in current social policy and suggest efforts should be directed particularly towards promoting educational opportunities and developing social inclusion for people with ID.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2005 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2005.00636.x