Mother-child and siblings' mediated learning strategies in families with and without children with intellectual disability

The objectives of the research were to study differences in Mediated Learning Experience (MLE) strategies between mothers and their children in families with intellectually disabled and typically developing children and the cross-generation transmission of MLE strategies. Dyads of mother-child and siblings were observed interacting in free-play and teaching situations and their mediation strategies were analyzed by the Observation of Mediation Interaction scale. The child in the mother-child interaction was the older sibling in the siblings’ interaction. Siblings samples were composed of two main groups: where the younger sibling (a) had an intellectual disability (ID, n = 25), or typically developing sibling dyads matched on (b) difference in mental age (TDM, n = 25) and (c) difference in chronological age (TDC, n = 25). The mediation strategies of older-younger siblings were compared to that of mother-child (with older sibling). The findings showed that siblings demonstrated higher level of MLE strategies than mothers in the ID group as compared with the two TD groups and that there is a cross-generation transmission of MLE strategies after controlling variables of group, mothers’ years of education, level of occupation, and level of religiosity. The findings implications are related to the central role of siblings in families with a child with ID and working with families to enhance children’s cognitive development.