This research portfolio aims to further explore the issues faced by parents with a
learning disability.
Firstly, a systematic review of qualitative research into the social support of parents
with a learning disability is presented. This not only indicated that a range of social
support is provided to parents with a learning disability and received with different
perceptions, but also highlighted the need for further qualitative research in the area,
to gain a better insight into the lived experiences of this group of parents.
Secondly, and further to the findings of the systematic review, is the empirical
research study. Adopting a qualitative design (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis- IPA) (Smith, 1996; Smith et al., 2009), the study aimed to explore what
parents with a learning disability understood about their learning disability and how
they perceived it to impact on them in their parenting role. Analysis revealed five
themes which reflect the perceptions and experiences of a sample of eight parents
with a learning disability.
Finally, to enable efficient and effective dissemination of the findings to the wider
audience a journal article is presented. The journal article, as well as attempting to
summarise the methodology used, focused on the most salient theme of the findings,
which was how participants viewed themselves in relation to having a learning
disability and being a parent