Futures planning, parental expectations and sibling concern for people who have a learning disability

Davys, D; Haigh, CA; Mitchell, D

Abstract

The aim of this questionnaire was to explore the existence of future plans, parental expectation and sibling concern regarding people who have a learning disability. A questionnaire was sent via email to siblings of people who have a learning disability. 21 completed questionnaires were returned and responses were anaylsed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis.
A full discussion regarding sibling support was reported to have taken place by 12 (57%) of respondents, 7 (33%) stated this discussion had not taken place and 2 (9%) were unsure. 12 (57%) of participants reported no clear future plan however where a plan did exist, 7 (33%) of respondents claimed it was fully agreeable to both them and their parents. 11 (52%) of respondents reported no difference between their wishes regarding their future role and parental wishes. Key themes generated were; satisfaction with services, parental influence, sibling concern about the future, futures planning, the impact of the disabled person upon sibling lives and siblings needs.
Further qualitative exploration into the personal wishes, reality and parental expectations for future support of siblings of adults who have a learning disability is required.
Keywords: adult siblings, futures planning, learning disability, parental expectation

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2010
• Deposit Date: Apr 12, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 12, 2011
• Journal: Journal of Intellectual Disabilities
• Print ISSN: 1744-6295
• Electronic ISSN: 1744-6309
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 167-183
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1744629510385625
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1744629510385625