Journal on Developmental Disabilities
Le journal sur les handicaps du développement

I am pleased to introduce the long-awaited special issue on Families of Individuals with D.D. The articles in this issue represent years of work by many teams of researchers and thousands of volunteer hours of participation by hundreds of family members. We are grateful that parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sister's and guardians were very generous with their time in order to teach us more about them.

Without exception, the papers included in this issue have important clinical implications for those who support individuals with DD and their families. We have learned that there are many factors that contribute to and alleviate parenting stress, and that there are different models that can be used to help us understand these issues. We have learned that parents of individuals with DD are a heterogenous group, with a wide-range of coping abilities and stress levels. These parents tell us that they don't simply need more services and supports; they need the right kinds of services and supports for their stage in the family life-cycle. Similar to parents, siblings of individuals with DD are also a heterogenous group with varying levels of understanding of their siblings' disability, and a wide-range of socio-emotional functioning. Supports and services for siblings are a necessary component of service delivery to families of individuals with DD.

In closing, I'd like to take the opportunity to call our community to action. There are many things to be done to better support the individuals with DD and their families who live in our communities, and we need to take responsibility to effect change within our circle of influence. The limited housing options for adults with DD is a great concern for their aging parents and siblings. Service providers, researchers and policy makers who are consumers of this knowledge must make a combined effort to fund, develop, and examine the effects of creative solutions to this housing crisis.

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