Social worker perception of grandparent involvement where a parent has an intellectual disability.
Grandparents can either prop up or push aside parents with ID, so you must script their help to keep the parent in charge.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Ben-Sasson et al. (2019) talked with 21 Israeli social workers. They asked how grandparents act when their adult child with intellectual disability becomes a parent.
The team used open interviews. Workers shared real cases and family stories.
What they found
Grandparent reactions ran from strong resistance to warm encouragement. Some grandparents stepped in too much and took over. Others gave calm help that let the parent grow.
Social workers had to balance the extra help with the parent’s right to learn the job.
How this fits with other research
Fleury et al. (2019) also used interviews and found grandparents calm autism families. The new study shows the same calming role can happen for parents with ID, but only when respect stays high.
Austin et al. (2015) warned that adults with ID already sit on the edge of thin family networks. Ayelet’s findings echo the risk: over-helping grandparents can shrink the parent’s network even more.
Acar et al. (2021) reviewed 24 studies and saw most early work leaves parents as watchers, not doers. The Israeli data push back—grandparents must keep the parent in the lead, not replace them.
Why it matters
If you serve adults with ID who are raising kids, map the grandparent stance first. Coach supportive grandparents to give help only when the parent asks. Set clear roles so the parent keeps mastery and the child keeps one main caregiver. This small shift can stop the parent from losing skills and status inside the family.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Family members of parents with intellectual disabilities (ID) are viewed as their main source of support. However, the existence of family involvement itself does not guarantee that such support will be beneficial. AIMS: This study draws on the perspectives of social workers to describe and evaluate involvement by Israeli family members (grandparents) in the lives of their adult children with ID (parents with ID) who themselves have become parents. METHOD: A thematic analysis was conducted in 21 semi-structured interviews with social workers serving parents with ID through social service departments. RESULTS: From the social workers' perspectives, grandparent attitudes regarding their adult children with ID procreating and parenting ranged from strong resistance to active encouragement. Two sub-themes of grandparent involvement were identified from the social workers' perspectives: the critical role of grandparent support, and the complex relationships between grandparents and the parents with ID. Two further and interrelated subthemes emerged on the role of social worker engagement with grandparents. CONCLUSIONS: Professionals should be aware that grandparent involvement can either support or undermine the parenting function of parents with ID. Social service professionals need to promote family involvement that empowers parents with ID by supporting their needs and roles, but without supplanting their primary parenting activities.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2019 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2019.103427