ABSTRACT
Ordinary life principles, and values of inclusion and empowerment, currently dominate the culture of services for people with intellectual disabilities (Department of Health, 2001). Yet it is still rare to see parenthood actively promoted as a life choice for people with intellectual disabilities. The perception may be largely unspoken, but the demands of parenthood are perceived to be too great for very many people with intellectual disabilities. Instead, if pregnancy occurs, services tend to be reactive, with large numbers of professionals dedicating many hours of time and large quantities of money to ensure good outcomes for the children of parents who have intellectual disabilities. As Booth and Booth (1994) have described, precise data on the numbers of parents with intellectual disabilities is difficult to find, but we can assume that, with increased care in the community and with policy-driven efforts to enable people with intellectual disabilities to lead lives of their own choosing, the incidence of people with intellectual disabilities becoming parents is likely to increase. Service interventions after the birth of children will generally involve personnel from intellectual disability services as well as those from child protection. The differing values bases of these two branches of the service tree may make it difficult for constructive work to take place. The needs of the child are paramount and the parent who has intellectual disabilities, as well as their carers and advocates, may find it shocking that they have no rights per se to be parents. There may, additionally, be conflict between the rights of the child for good enough care, and the stated aim of the Children Act (1989) that the child must be maintained in their family of origin wherever possible.
