Plain Facts Print Version

Being a parent

Some people with learning difficulties want to have children. Wendy Booth and Tim Booth talked to people with learning difficulties who are parents. They also talked to some grown-up children whose mum or dad had learning difficulties.

This Plain Facts tells you what Wendy and Tim found out. It is also about what happened when Wendy and 3 other people became advocates for the parents.

 picture of a family

When people got good support, it made it easier to be a good parent.

Parents liked going to support groups.

Parents liked having an advocate to help them. An advocate speaks up for people in important meetings and helps them to sort out problems.
Parents and advocates found it hard to get the support they needed from social workers and other paid workers.
Sometimes grandparents and other family members helped parents look after their children. They often did this better than paid workers.