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Women with cognitive disabilities experience male partner violence at a higher rate than non-disabled women. They also tend to remain in abusive relationships for longer, due in part to their social isolation and a lack of appropriately adapted services. Many survivors suffer post-traumatic stress and or stress-related health conditions long after the violence has stopped. This Guide, which is based on a review of literature and interviews with five experienced practitioners, offers some general guidance for community outreach workers supporting women with cognitive disabilities after the initial crisis of ending an abusive relationship.
This report documents findings from a study of the everyday challenges and accomplishment of sustaining a routine of family life that accommodates the needs and interests of a child with disabilities along with all other family members. One objective was to examine the relationship between sustainability of the daily routine and family propensity to seek out-of-home placement for their child with disabilities. A second objective was to investigate child-specific, within-family and social-ecological factors influencing sustainability of the daily routine.
Reports findings from a study that utilized data from the third Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect to investigated prevalence and outcomes for children of caregivers with intellectual disability or cognitive impairments (CI) subject to child maltreatment investigations. While primary caregiver CI was noted in 6.3% of all child maltreatment investigations, it was noted in 18.4% of investigations resulting in child apprehension.
Our analysis of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS-2003) core data, documented in this report, reveals that more than one in ten child maltreatment investigations, and more than one in four cases that result in child welfare court action, involve children of parents with cognitive impairments. Notably, the prevalence of parental cognitive impairment was particularly high (>17%) in cases involving children < 1 year of age.
The focus of this study was on the question of whether, and if so how, the dissemination of the Positive Parenting Program (“Triple P”) (levels 2 and 3) is strengthening the capacity of Family Support Services to support parents and families in Alberta, Canada. Notably, we found that services appear to be less effective in meeting the learning and support needs of (i) parents experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage and/ or financial hardship; (ii) parents for whom English is a second language; (iii) parents with a disability or chronic health condition; (iv) parents caring for a child with a disability or chronic health condition; and, (v) parents who have an older child with more challenging behaviours.