Findings from Brandeis University in the Area of Learning Disorders Reported (Behavioural and cognitive outcomes in young children of mothers with…

Findings from Brandeis University in the Area of Learning Disorders Reported (Behavioural and cognitive outcomes in young children of mothers with intellectual impairments)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Mental Health Weekly Digest -- New research on Speech, Language and Learning Diseases and Conditions - Learning Disorders is the subject of a report. According to news reporting out of Waltham, Massachusetts, by NewsRx editors, research stated, "Despite an increase in international studies examining the experiences of parents with intellectual impairments and their children, few have utilised population-based data. This study investigated the behavioural and cognitive outcomes of 3-year-old US children of mothers with intellectual impairments compared with children of mothers without intellectual impairments."

Financial support for this research came from Lurie Institute for Disability Policy, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University (see also Speech, Language and Learning Diseases and Conditions - Learning Disorders).

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Brandeis University, "This study employed a secondary analysis of the Fragile Families Child and Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal birth cohort study in the US. Our analytic sample included mothers with intellectual impairments (n=263) and a comparison group of mothers without intellectual impairments (n=1298), as well as each sampled mother's focal child. When weighted, Fragile Families is representative of all births in US cities with populations over 200 000. Children of mothers with intellectual impairments had poorer behavioural and cognitive outcomes in comparison to same-age children of mothers without intellectual impairments. Notably, however, children of mothers with intellectual impairments were not at increased risk of being aggressive unless their family income was below 200% of the federal poverty level. Further, families headed by mothers with intellectual impairments experienced multiple hardships related to socioeconomic factors, limited social supports and poor self-reported health."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "Appropriate policies and programmes must be developed and implemented to effectively support these families, such as increased financial benefits."

For more information on this research see: Behavioural and cognitive outcomes in young children of mothers with intellectual impairments. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 2016;61(1):50-61. (Wiley-Blackwell - www.wiley.com/; Journal of Intellectual Disability Research - onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2788)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting R.M. Powell, Brandeis University, Lurie Institute for Disability Policy, Waltham, MA, United States.

Keywords for this news article include: Waltham, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America, Learning Disorders, Risk and Prevention, Speech, Language and Learning Diseases and Conditions.

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