Abstract
Twelve Asian Muslim parents with at least one learning disabled son/daughter living in the Borough of Hounslow were interviewed using a schedule based on previous research findings. Parental attitudes and beliefs were elicited by the schedule on a variety of issues thought to be associated with having a learning disabled son/daughter. A number of hypotheses were tested and the results of the study suggest that Asian Muslim parents’ attitudes to learning disabilities are affected by certain demographic variables, such that parents who had lived in Britain longest were more likely to believe in a spiritual cause for learning disabilities and those brought up in urban areas were more clearly informed about learning disabilities and less likely to have sought a cure. Attitudes also varied according to the disabled individuals’ sex with males more frequently being taken to holy places or experts for ’treatment’. Parents viewed their own son/daughters’ learning disabilities as more likely to be medical in causation and their comments were on the whole less positive compared to their views on learning disabilities in general. Eastern remedies were more commonly sought than western medicine and a third of parents believed in cure. Religion was cited as an aid for coping but most practical support came from the main-carers’ spouse; this diminished as the individual got older while professional help increased. Most main-carers described their health as good/fair but half reported experiencing disabling symptoms and were taking medication for a physical complaint. The main-carer’s health was also related to sleep problems exhibited by the learning disabled individual. Asian Muslim parents had not on the whole prepared for their son/daughters’ future.