
Parenting in Context – Cognitive Difficulties and the Realities of Family Life
By: Marianne Hedlund and Turid Midjo
References
- Blaettler, Larissa T., Juan Martín Goméz Penedo, Martin Grosse Holtforth, and Niklaus Egloff. 2022. “Being Trapped and Seeing No Way out – Effects of Entrapment on Treatment Outcome in an Interdisciplinary Pain Treatment.” Acad Consult Liaison Psychiatry 63(1): 36–45. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaclp.2021.06.006
- Booth, Tim, and Wendy Booth. 2005. “Parents with Learning Difficulties in the Child Protection System: Experiences and Perspectives.” Journal of Intellectual Disabilities 9(2): 109–29. DOI: 10.1177/1744629505053922
- Bornstein, Marc H. 2019. Handbook of Parenting. (Social Conditions and Applied Parenting). 3rd ed. Vol. 4. New York: Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9780429440847-1
- Branje, Susan, Brett Laursen, and W. Andrew Collins. 2012.
“Parent–Child Communication During Adolescence.” In The Routledge Handbook of Family Communication, edited by Anita L. Vangelisti. 2nd ed. Abingdon: Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9780203848166-25 - Braun, Virginia, and Victoria Clarke. 2006. “Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology”. Qualitative Research in Psychology 3(2): 77–101. DOI: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
- Braun, Virginia, and Victoria Clarke. 2022. Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide. Los Angeles: SAGE. DOI: 10.53841/bpsqmip.2022.1.33.46
- Clarke, Harriet, and Lindsay O’Dell. 2013.
“Disabled Parents and Normative Family Life: The Obscuring of Lived Experiences of Parents and Children within Policy and Research Accounts.” In Family Troubles? Exploring Changes and Challenges in the Family Lives of Children and Young People, edited by Jane Ribbens McCarthy, Carol-Ann Hooper, and Val Gillies, 75–85. Bristol: Policy Press. DOI: 10.46692/9781447304456.010 - Darcy, Simon, Hazel Maxwell, Melissa Edwards, and Barbara Almond. 2023. “Disability Inclusion in Beach Precincts: Beach for All Abilities – A Community Development Approach through a Social Relational Model of Disability Lens.” Sport Management Review 26(1): 1–23. DOI: 10.1080/14413523.2022.2059998
- Dawes, Kate, Ashley Carlino, Maayken van den Berg, and Maggie Killington. 2022. “Life Altering Effects on Children When a Family Member Has an Acquired Brain Injury: A Qualitative Exploration of Child and Family Perceptions.” Disabil Rehabil 44(2): 282–90. DOI: 10.1080/09638288.2020.1766582
- Edwards, Adrian Richard, Audrey Daisley, and Gavin Newby. 2014. “The Experience of Being a Parent with an Acquired Brain Injury (Abi) as an Inpatient at a Neuro-Rehabilitation Centre, 0–2 Years Post-Injury.” Brain Injury 28(13–14). DOI: 10.3109/02699052.2014.947633
- Ellingsen, Karl E., and Anna M. Kittelsaa. 2010. “Å velge det trygge. Utviklingshemmede og selvbestemmelse.” [Choosing the Safe. Intellectual Disability and Self-Determination]. Fontene Forskning 2: 4–15.
- Eydal Gudný, Björk, and Tine Rostgaard. 2014. Fatherhood in the Nordic Welfare States: Comparing Care Policies and Practice. Vol. 50702. Bristol: Policy Press. DOI: 10.51952/9781447310495
- Feldman, Maurice A., and Marjorie Aunos. 2020. “Recent Trends and Future Directions in Research Regarding Parents with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.” Curr Dev Disord Rep 7(3): 173–81. DOI: 10.1007/s40474-020-00204-y
- Finch, Janet. 2007. “Displaying Families.” Sociology (Oxford) 41(1): 65–81. DOI: 10.1177/0038038507072284
- Forsberg, Lucas. 2009.
Involved Parenthood: Everyday Lives of Swedish Middle-Class Families . Disseration. Linköping: Linköping University Electronic Press. - Fritsch, Kelly. 2016.
“Contesting the Neoliberal Affects of Disabled Parenting: Toward a Relational Emergence of Disability.” In Disabling Domesticity, edited by Michael Rembis, 243–267. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: 10.1057/978-1-137-48769-8_10 - Gabb, Jacqui. 2011.
“Troubling Displays: The Affect of Gender, Sexuality and Class.” In Displaying Families, edited by Dermott and Seymour, Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life, 38–57. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. DOI: 10.1057/9780230314306_3 - Gerdts-Andresen, Tina, and Anita Hegdahl-Galterudhøgda. 2025. “Identifying Parents with Cognitive Difficulties: How Child Welfare Services Enable Timely and Appropriate Support.” Social Sciences (Basel) 14(11):
625 . DOI: 10.3390/socsci14110625 - Gergen, Kenneth J. 1994. Realities and Relationships: Soundings in Social Construction. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
- Gergen, Kenneth J. 2009. Relational Being: Beyond Self and Community. 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Inc. DOI: 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199846269.001.0001
- Gillies, Val, and Rosalind Edwards. 2006. “A Qualitative Analysis of Parenting and Social Capital: Comparing the Work of Coleman and Bourdieu.” Qualitative Sociology Review: QSR 2(2): 42–60. DOI: 10.18778/1733-8077.2.2.04
- Goodwin, Susan, and Kate Huppatz. 2010.
“The Good Mother in Theory and Research: An Overview.” In The Good Mother: Contemporary Motherhoods in Australia, edited by Susan Goodwin and Kate Huppatz, 1–24. Sydney: Sydney University Press. DOI: 10.2307/j.ctv1sr6kgj.5 - Hansen, Karen V. 2005. Not-So-Nuclear Families: Class, Gender, and Networks of Care. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
- Harris, Gabrielle M., and Janet Prvu Bettger. 2018. “Parenting After Stroke: A Systematic Review.” Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation 25(5): 384–92. DOI: 10.1080/10749357.2018.1452366
- Hedlund, Marianne. 2000. “Disability as a Phenomenon: A Discourse of Social and Biological Understanding.” Disability & Society 15(5): 765–80. DOI: 10.1080/713662001
- Hedlund, Marianne. 2004. Shaping Justice: Defining the Disability Benefit Category in Swedish Social Policy. Lund Dissertations in Sociology. Lund: Department of Sociology, Lund University.
- Hedlund, Marianne. 2009.
“Understandings of the Disability Concept: A Complex and Diverse Concept.” In Disabilities: Insights from Across Fields and Around the World, Volume 1: The Experience—Definitions, Causes, and Consequences, edited by Catherine A. Marshall, Elizabeth Kendall, Martha E. Banks, and Reva Mariah S. Gover, 5–18. Westport, CT: Praeger. - Howes, Hannah, David Benton, and Stephen Edwards. 2005. “Women’s Experience of Brain Injury: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.” Psychology & Health 20(1): 129–42. DOI: 10.1080/0887044042000272903
- Ingólfsdóttir, Jóna G., Rannveig Traustadóttir, Snæfríður Þóra Egilson, and Dan Goodley. 2012. “Thinking Relationally: Disability, Families and Cultural-Historical Activity Theory.” Barn 30(4). DOI: 10.5324/barn.v30i4.4122
- Jenkins, Victoria. 2006. “Finding The Right Support? A Review of Issues and Positive Practice in Supporting Parents with Learning Difficulties and Their Children.” Community Care (Haywards Heath, England) (Sutton), September 21.
- Johnson, Andy J., and April Vinding. 2023. Subverting Resistance to Social Justice and Diversity Education: Constructive Approaches with Undergraduate Students. Springer Briefs in Social Work. 1st ed. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-31713-2
- Kafer, Alison. 2013. Feminist, Queer, Crip. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. DOI: 10.2979/6841.0
- Kilkey, Majella, and Harriet Clarke. 2010. “Disabled Men and Fathering: Opportunities and Constraints.” Community, Work & Family 13(2): 127–46. DOI: 10.1080/13668800902923738
- Kong, Peiling, Susan Collings, and Margaret Spencer. 2025. “Assessments, Assumptions and Ableism: Examining Court-Ordered Parenting Capacity Assessments of Parents with Intellectual Disability and Cognitive Difficulties.” Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability 50(2): 196–210. DOI: 10.3109/13668250.2024.2417425
- Lærum, Kristin Tafjord, and Lars Grue. 2003. “Fysisk funksjonshemmede kvinner får også barn.” [Physically Disabled Women Also Have Children]. Tidsskrift for den Norske Lægeforening 123(13): 1852–53.
- Landstad, Bodil J., Marianne Hedlund, Åsa Tjulin, Mikael Nordenmark, and Stig Vinberg. 2023. “Making Things Work in Spite of a Pandemic: Small-Scale Enterprise Managers’ Approach to Business Changes and Health Issues.” PloS One 18(7):
e0288837 . DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288837 - Leila, Poursoleiman, Rooddehghan Zahra, Bahramnezhad Fatemeh, Shafiee Sabet Mahdi, and Dehghan Nayeri Nahid. 2025. “Perceived Experiences of Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Qualitative Study.” BMC Psychol 13(1): 634–10. DOI: 10.1186/s40359-025-02979-4
- Lightfoot, Elizabeth, Traci Laliberte, and Minhae Cho. 2017. “A Case Record Review of Termination of Parental Rights Cases Involving Parents with a Disability.” Children and Youth Services Review 79(2017): 399–407. DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.06.037
- Lind, Judith, Allan Westerling, Anna Sparrman, and Karen Ida Dannesboe. 2016.
“Introduction: Doing Good Parenthood.” In Doing Good Parenthood: Ideals and Practices of Parental Involvement, edited by Anna Sparrman, Allan Westerling, Judith Lind, and Karen Ida Dannesboe, 1–15. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-46774-0_1 - McConnell, David, and Gwynnyth Llewellyn. 2000. “Disability and Discrimination in Statutory Child Protection Proceedings.” Disability & Society 15 (6):883–95. DOI: 10.1080/713662015
- McConnell, David, Gwynnyth Llewellyn, and Rosalind Bye. 1997. “Providing Services for Parents with Intellectual Disability: Parent Needs and Service Constraints.” Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability 22(1): 5–17. DOI: 10.1080/13668259700033251
- Morgan, David H.J. 2011. Rethinking Family Practices. Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Morriss, Elissa, Suzanne Wright, Sharon Smith, Judy Roser, and Melissa Kendall. 2013. “Parenting Challenges and Needs for Fathers Following Acquired Brain Injury (Abi) in Queensland, Australia: A Preliminary Model.” The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling 19(2): 119–34. DOI: 10.1017/jrc.2013.15
- Nochi, Masahiro. 1998. “Loss of Self” in the Narratives of People with Traumatic Brain Injuries: A Qualitative Analysis.” Soc Sci Med 46(7): 869–78. DOI: 10.1016/S0277-9536(97)00211-6
- Nochi, Masahiro. 2000. “Reconstructing Self-Narratives in Coping with Traumatic Brain Injury.” Soc Sci Med 51(12): 1795–804. DOI: 10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00111-8
- Nussbaum, Martha C. 2006. Frontiers of Justice: Disability, Nationality, Species Membership. The Tanner Lectures on Human Values. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press. DOI: 10.4159/9780674041578
- Pituch, Evelina, Anna Maria Bindiu, Myrian Grondin, and Carolina Bottari. 2022. “Parenting with a Physical Disability and Cognitive Impairments: A Scoping Review of the Needs Expressed by Parents.” Disabil Rehabil 44(13): 3285–300. DOI: 10.1080/09638288.2020.1851786
- Reindal, Solveig Magnus. 2008. “A Social Relational Model of Disability: A Theoretical Framework for Special Needs Education?” European Journal of Special Needs Education 23(2): 135–46. DOI: 10.1080/08856250801947812
- Rivera Drew, Julia A. 2009. “Disability and the Self-Reliant Family: Revisiting the Literature on Parents with Disabilities.” Marriage Fam Rev 45(5): 431–47. DOI: 10.1080/01494920903048734
- Scior, Katrina, and Shirli Werner. 2016. Intellectual Disability and Stigma: Stepping out from the Margins. 1st ed. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. DOI: 10.1057/978-1-137-52499-7
- Sen, Amartya. 1999. Development as Freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Shakespeare, Tom. 2014. Disability Rights and Wrongs Revisited. 2nd edition. New York: Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9781315887456
- Skippon, Rachel. 2013.
“Supporting Families and Parenting after Parental Brain Injury.” In Practical Neuropsychological Rehabilitation in Acquired Brain Injury: A Guide for Working Clinicians, edited by Gavin Newby, Rafey Coetzer, Audrey Daisley, and Shirley-Ann R. Weatherhead, 295–320. London: Karnac Books. DOI: 10.4324/9780429478468-13 - Sparrman, Anna, Allan Westerling, Judith Lind, and Karen Ida Dannesboe (ed). 2016. Doing Good Parenthood: Ideals and Practices of Parental Involvement. 1st ed. Cham: Springer International Publishing: Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-46774-0
- Stakrud, Elisabeth, Ivar Kolstad, Kirsten J. Bang, Lene Bomann-Larsen, Kjetil Fretheim, and Rakel C. Granaas. 2021. “Forskningsetiske retningslinjer for samfunnsvitenskap og humaniora [National Committee for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities [NESH]. Guidelines for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities.” Retrieved from:
https://www.forskningsetikk.no/en/guidelines/social-sciences-and-humanities/guidelines-for-research-ethics-in-the-social-sciences-and-the-humanities/ . - Stebbins, Robert A. 2001. Exploratory Research in the Social Sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. DOI: 10.4135/9781412984249
- Tarleton, Beth, and Danielle Turney. 2020. “Understanding ‘Successful Practice/s’ with Parents with Learning Difficulties When There Are Concerns about Child Neglect: The Contribution of Social Practice Theory.” Child Indicators Research (Dordrecht) 13(2): 387–409. DOI: 10.1007/s12187-019-09682-y
- Terzi, Lorella. 2005. “Beyond the Dilemma of Difference: The Capability Approach to Disability and Special Educational Needs.” Journal of Philosophy of Education 39(3): 443–59. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9752.2005.00447.x
- Thomas, Carol. 2004. “Rescuing a Social Relational Understanding of Disability.” Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research: SJDR 6(1): 22–36. DOI: 10.1080/15017410409512637
- Tøssebro, Jan. 2004. “Introduction to the Special Issue: Understanding Disability.” Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research: SJDR 6(1): 3–7. DOI: 10.1080/15017410409512635
- Tøssebro, Jan. 2021. Hva er Funksjonshemming [What Does Disability Mean?]. 2nd ed. Vol. 36. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
- Tøssebro, Jan, Turid Midjo, Veronika Paulsen, and Berit Berg. 2014. Foreldre med kognitive vansker i møte med barnevernet [Parents With Cognitive Difficulties Meeting the Child Welfare Services]. NTNU Samfunnsforskning.
- Trowsdale, Jo, and Richard Hayhow. 2013. “Can Mimetics, a Theatre-Based Practice, Open Possibilities for Young People with Learning Disabilities? A Capability Approach.” British Journal of Special Education 40(2): 72–79. DOI: 10.1111/1467-8578.12019
- United Nations (UN). 2008.
“Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) No. 44910.” In Treaty Series. New York: United Nations Treaty Collection.https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-15&chapter=4&lang=_en&clang=_en . - Verhaeghe, Sofie, Tom Defloor, and Mieke Grypdonck. 2005. “Stress and Coping among Families of Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury: A Review of the Literature.” J Clin Nurs 14(8): 1004–12. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2005.01126.x
- World Medical Association (WMA). 2013. “World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects.” JAMA 310(20):
2191 . DOI: 10.1001/jama.2013.281053
DOI: https://doi.org/10.16993/sjdr.1223 | Journal eISSN: 1745-3011
Language: English
Page range: 159 - 171
Submitted on: Oct 25, 2024
Accepted on: Mar 17, 2026
Published on: Mar 31, 2026
Published by: Stockholm University Press
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Keywords:
© 2026 Marianne Hedlund, Turid Midjo, published by Stockholm University Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.