Family issues

This contribution provides an overview of the development of understanding of the effects of a learning disability on the family. It describes the move from pathological models of disability to social models and how this has changed the understanding of family adaptations to disability. The development of these ideas and how this has led to the development of a variety of models and frameworks which have informed and directed research in this field is described. The models described are Stress and Coping, Accommodations, Systemic models, Positive effects and Rewards. This highlights the complexity and variation of family adaptations and provides frameworks for understanding from the interpersonal to the wider contextual aspects of family functioning. Research findings over the past decade provide an overall picture emphasizing the positive aspects and resilience of family care, rather than concentrating on the distress and dysfunction present in early literature, providing a more balanced picture.