Parental Learning Disability and Children's Needs

 This book is a highly valuable contribution to the growing body of literature on parents with a learning disability.

Over the past two decades, attitudes towards adults with learning disabilities have changed. They now have the same legal rights as all adults to live in the community, enjoy sexual expression and raise children. These changes have led to a steady increase in the number of adults with learning disabilities who are parents. Yet these parents still face a high risk of losing their children and current support for them is inadequate.

Cleaver and Nicholson look at current support systems, highlight their shortcomings and propose ways to improve practice while always keeping the welfare of children at the heart of work. They conclude that a long-term package of services is necessary to meet the diverse, complex and multiple needs of families where a parent has learning disabilities. Resources must be committed for the duration of childhood and local authorities should ensure information about assessments and services is available in an easily accessible format and that practitioners have access to experts with specialist skills in assessing, communicating and working with people with learning disabilities.