To Örebro University

Parenting Young Children (PYC) is a support program developed for parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs). The group is vulnerable and often receives societal support, with a high risk for child removals unless sufficient support is provided. According to the Swedish Social Services Act, the Social Services have responsibility for providing these families with the support they are entitled to, but there is a lack of evidence-based support programs adjusted to these parents’ needs. PYC was developed in Australia and has been implemented with good results in several Swedish municipalities since 2010, despite the clinical experience a scientific evaluation is needed. 

The aim of this mixed method project was to evaluate PYC for improved parenting among Swedish parents with IDD who have children, 0-9 years, and who need parental support from social services.

The project is organized in three tracks and includes researchers from different fields: social work, psychology and occupational therapy. 

Track I study the effect of PYC focusing on goal attainment in increasing parenting skills, parental self-efficacy, and child psychosocial adjustment. A multi-centre, pre-test (T1) – post-test (T2) design with a six-month follow-up (T3), with parents of children aged 0–9. Goal-attainment in parenting skills was measured with the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). Parents and PYC-practitioners rated performance (1-10) on the respective skill under training, and the parents also rated their satisfaction (1-10). 

Track II study the parents' experiences of the PYC method, and their experience of the impact on parenthood. Parents' experiences of PYC were explored shortly after completing PYC, using individual, semi-structured interviews that are audio-recorded and transcribed. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. In total, 15 parents (8 mothers, 7 fathers) have been interviewed. 

Track III study children’s experiences of their family relationships in everyday life. So far six children, aged 4–10, whose parents have received PYC-support, have been interviewed with support from an interview guide (circadian cycle) and picture support. The children talked about their everyday lives, emotions, relationships with peers in (pre-)school, and within the family life. 

Preliminary results concerning increased parenting skills, involving 13 parents and 51 goals, show a clinically significant improvement from T1 to T2 and maintenance at T3. Concerning the interviews, the parents experienced increased security in parenting, improvements in parenting skills, and strengthened self-confidence. PYC also influenced parent-child relationships so that the child's needs were put in focus. The parents emphasized that their parental competence developed in a trusting, participatory process in which it was important to feel included. Parents experienced that PYC had a noticeable positive impact on their knowledge and skills as parents. Parents learned about their children's developmental needs and increased their understanding of them. Further results will be presented at the conference. 

In conclusion, this project shows that parents with IDDs can improve their parenting skills by participating in practical, person-cantered, step-by-step training with support from a professional social worker. 

Background: Parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities are entitled to effective support, yet access to adapted parenting programs remains limited. Parenting Young Children (PYC), a home-based, skills-focused training program using inclusive goal setting, was developed to address this gap (Mildon et al., 2008). PYC is perceived as beneficial by both parents and practitioners (Randell et al., 2025), but quantitative evaluations are still needed.

Research question: The aim of this ongoing study is to evaluate whether PYC improves parenting skills among Swedish parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities who require support.

Methodology: The study is conducted in collaboration with interest organizations and uses a multicenter pre-test (T1), post-test (T2), and six-month follow-up (T3) design. Participants are parents of children aged 0–9. Goal attainment in parenting skills is measured with the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM; Law, 2020). Parents rate performance and satisfaction with the targeted skills at T1–T3 and practitioners rate performance at T1 and T2 (1–10).

Results: Thirteen parents have participated thus far: six with mild intellectual disability, five with marginal intellectual disability, and two autistic parents. Preliminary findings across 51 goals show significant, clinically meaningful improvements in parents’ performance from T1 to T2, reported by both parents and practitioners, with maintenance at T3. Parents also report significant increases in satisfaction.

Conclusion: PYC helps parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities develop and maintain parenting skills. The findings underscore the importance of ensuring access to PYC or similar adapted parenting support programs in line with parents’ rights.

Category: Parenting with Intellectual Disabilities

It is estimated that up to 1.3 billion people, which represents 16% of the global population, live with a significant disability that impacts their daily lives. This figure represents a substantial proportion of the world’s population and highlights the need for greater awareness and understanding of disability issues and the living conditions of people with disabilities. The concept of disability can be elucidated through several theoretical lenses. In this chapter, the social model of disability will be the primary lens through which the phenomenon will be described. This chapter builds on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Nancy Fraser’s theory of social justice to examine the intersection between society, disability and justice. It does so with the support of an analytical model developed by Fraser within the dimensions of redistribution, recognition and representation. The objective of this chapter is to interpret and discuss these three dimensions within the context of disability and social justice. To facilitate the comprehension of the model and the discussion, a visual representation of social justice is provided. The chapter concludes with an examination of the model's representation in a postmodern society and its relevance to legal questions in society.

Parenting Young Children is a home-based parenting support program for parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The program focuses on parents' ability to care for and interact with their children and is adjusted to each parent's needs through individualised goal-setting. The program has been implemented in many Swedish municipalities, and practitioners perceive it as useful, but there is scarce knowledge about parents' perspectives. The aim of the present study was therefore to examine parents' experiences of the impact of the Parenting Young Children program on their parenting skills and parenting role. Semi-structured individual interviews were held with 15 parents (eight mothers) who had intellectual and developmental disabilities and were assessed as needing parental support due to concerns about neglect. The parents received the program from social services, delivered through weekly sessions for at least 6 months. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Parents perceived that the program had a positive impact on their parenting knowledge and skills. They described learning about their children's developmental needs and improving their understanding of their children. They also expressed that they acquired new skills, increased their responsiveness and interaction skills, and improved their parent-child relationships. Parents further described becoming more confident over time and growing into their roles, and that the program had a significant impact on family life, encouraging shared parental responsibility. The findings indicate that parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities perceive the program as helpful for developing knowledge, skills and confidence.

As the social impacts of globalization and urbanization continue to weaken families, older people are increasingly likely to suffer abuse and neglect. This qualitative study explored what older people perceived as the causes and consequences of abuse and the coping mechanisms they employed. A qualitative study design informed by in-depth semi-structured interviews was used to gather data from 33 older people. Nineteen women and 14 men ranging in age from 63 to 89 years were interviewed. The findings revealed loss of culture, family dislocation, chronological age, and a shortage of land for cultivation as the assumed causes of abuse in Uganda, with reported social, economic, and psychological effects. The findings further showed that victims of elder abuse in Uganda rely upon social support systems and income generation to survive. Social care professions are urged to adopt family- and community-centered approaches to deal with elder abuse in the country.

The everyday lives of young children with speech sound disorder (SSD) are not well described, with few studies taking a holistic view with interaction in focus. The aim of this study was to investigate how SSD affects communicative activity and participation in everyday life of four children in a Swedish context. The study involved 4 triads: 4 children with SSD aged 4 to 7, their parents (n = 4), grandmothers (n = 2) and pedagogues, i.e. preschool teachers (n = 2). The research design was a case series, including speech language tests, questionnaires and structured interviews. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) served as an analytical framework. Results showed reduced speech intelligibility in all children. Interrupted thought processes, tantrums and social withdrawal were negative effects of the SSD. Having a friend in the out-of-home environment was a facilitating factor, enabling the children with SSD use their full capacity in social interaction. When knowledge about SSD is shared in all environments, all forces that influence the child positively may be aligned in a collaborative effort and a holistic understanding can be reached. To accomplish this, ICF serves as a valuable conceptual framework.

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a global health issue and a leading cause of long-term disabilities and mortality worldwide. There is growing evidence that TBI rehabilitation should be differentiated and individualised according to gender to provide more effective healthcare and rehabilitation. However, there is a lack of reviews focusing on the rehabilitation for women with TBI and there is a need to summarise existing knowledge to guide and individualise their rehabilitation. This scoping review aims to identify and map evidence on content and outcome of non-pharmacological rehabilitation for women with TBI aged below 65 years.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This scoping review will follow the methodological guidelines of the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR). The databases searched will be PubMed, CINAHL and PsycINFO. The following inclusion criteria will be applied: peer-reviewed studies published in English over the years 2000-2024 including description of content and outcomes of non-pharmacological TBI rehabilitation for women aged between 16 and 65 years in both inpatient and outpatient contexts. All severities of TBI ranging from concussion through to extremely severe will be included. Text and opinion papers, conference abstracts and grey literature will be excluded. Studies fulfilling the inclusion criteria will be independently reviewed by three researchers. A data extraction form will be used including specific details about the participants, concept, context, study methods and key findings. The results will be presented in tabular format accompanied by a narrative summary.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Due to the nature of data, no approval from an ethics committee is required. Dissemination of results are planned in an open-access peer-reviewed journal and in professional networks.

REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER: OSF, https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/QUY3T.

INTRODUCTION: Parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) often need parenting support, but there are few evidence-based programmes adapted to their cognitive needs. Parenting Young Children (PYC), a home-based programme for parents with IDDs, is perceived as beneficial by parents and practitioners, but it is unclear if PYC improves parenting. The purpose of the proposed mixed-methods study is therefore to evaluate the PYC programme for improved parenting in parents with IDDs.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The quantitative evaluation will have a multi-centre, pretest-posttest study design and include parents with IDDs (children aged 0-9) in need of adapted parenting support. Goal-attainment in parenting skills, parental self-efficacy and child mental health will be measured outcomes. Interviews will be used to explore the perspectives of parents and children on PYC.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Particpation is based on informed consent from parents and guardians of the participating children. Ethical approval was granted by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority.

Parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) often need parenting support, but there are few evidence-based support programs adapted to these parents’ cognitive needs. Parenting Young Children (PYC) is a home-based parenting support program developed for parents with IDDs in Australia and has then been implemented in Sweden. PYC emphasizes individualized goals, breaking down complex skills into smaller steps, and collaborating with the parents. To investigate the usefulness and acceptability of PYC, it is of vital importance to explore how the intervention is perceived by the parents.

The aim of the present study was to explore how PYC is perceived by Swedish parents with IDD, in need of adapted parenting support when there is a risk for neglect.

Parents' experiences of PYC were explored shortly after completing PYC, using individual, semi-structured interviews that are audio-recorded and transcribed. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. In total, 15 parents (8 mothers, 7 fathers) have been interviewed. Participating parents have mild ID or other cognitive difficulties (e.g., ASD) and have children between 0-9 years of age.

The parents experienced increased security in parenting, improvements in parenting skills, and strengthened self-confidence. PYC influenced parent-child relationships so that the child's needs were put in focus. The parents also emphasized that their parental competence developed in a trusting, participatory process in which it was important to feel included and treated positively. A prerequisite was that the PYC-social worker cooperates with the parent and is sensitive to the parent’s specific needs and wishes. According to the parents, the PYC-social worker should focus on the relationship between the parent and the PYC-social worker, and parents' knowledge and skills to increase the parent's competence. It was also of vital importance to include the needs of both the child and the parent.

Vad säger forskningen om förvärvad hjärnskada och psykisk ohälsa? Här redogör professor Thomas Strandberg för forskningsläget utifrån svensk och internationell forskning. Han poängterar vikten av att vårdpersonal är uppmärksam på tecken på psykisk ohälsa och erbjuder adekvat stöd.