Intellectual Disability and Anxiety in Children: A Group-based Parent Skills-training Intervention

Abstract

Anxiety is a highly prevalent problem with various manifestations in young children, especially those with an intellectual disability. Many parents of children with disabilities also experience a wide range of health problems, including anxiety, stress and depression. Very few group-based programs for parents of disabled children have been evaluated, and none of the existing research studies specifically address child or parental anxiety. Given the success of cognitive-behavioural interventions for anxious children without disabilities, it is logical that these interventions be applied to anxious intellectually disabled children. This paper presents a rationale for a new parent training-based early intervention program, targeting anxiety in this population of young people.