Young adults with intellectual disability recall their childhood

Abstract

Eleven young adults with an intellectual disability were interviewed for this exploratory study aimed at charting their experiences of growing up in homes where at least one parent had the same or a similar disability. Two main themes emerged from the interviews. Firstly, a clear majority of the young adults had positive experiences of family life during their upbringing, as expressed especially through their memories of their grandparents. Secondly, the study participants all described experiences of being bullied and harassed outside the family context. The results obtained in this study highlight the importance of the parents, the family, and informal networks in the upbringing of these children. The study also considers the consequences that the study participants’ negative experiences of peer contacts and their sense of exclusion might have for their prospects in later life.