What Can the Fields of Aging and Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Learn from Each Other to Support Family Caregivers?

More than 65 million people in the US serve as caregivers to family members who have a disability or are seniors in need of assistance, according to the Family Caregiver Alliance, and the number of caregivers is expected to grow in the coming years. These caregivers include families of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), many of whom are also experiencing age-related disabilities. For adults with IDD, families are the single largest provider of care with more than half of adults with IDD living at home with family. Family caregivers face many challenges including stress, depression, poor health, and financial hardship as the burden of caregiving increases demands on time away from work. Programs and services are available to help families cope with these challenges, but they usually focus on either caregivers for older adults or caregivers for adults with IDD, but not both. A recent NIDILRR-funded study looked at some of the differences and similarities between these programs and what the aging and IDD fields can learn from each other as they develop new interventions to support family caregivers.