Since 1980 the parent movement in the Caribbean has gathered strength, especially in relation to families whose children have a developmental disability. To a great extent, much of this change has come about because of the sharing of experiences and training facilitated by the Caribbean Association on Mental Retardation and Other Developmental Disabilities (CAMRODD) from 1970 onwards.

As professionals working with developmentally disabled children in Jamaica, the first and most obvious gap seemed to be the lack of services to families at crucial times, such as at diagnosis, at school entry, adolescence and later adulthood.

This chapter traces the evolution of the voluntary and parent movement in Jamaica. Drawing on examples from the Caribbean, we will show how parent training and the intimate involvement of families in community based services has resulted in more participation by relatives, the benefits it has brought to families and the leadership roles now undertaken by parents. The process, and the progress however, is slow.