PARENTING AND DISABILITY

Contents

List of tables

Acknowledgements

Terminology

Introduction

1. Invisibility and exclusion

Introduction

Disabled parents: invisibility and pathology

The parenting of disabled people as a social problem: the case of ‘young carers’

The legislative and policy context

Conclusions

2. Demographic characteristics of the final sample

3. Access to support

Introduction

Use of formal support

Barriers to the use of formal support

Barriers to the use of informal support

The interaction between formal and informal support

Developing a broader understanding of the origins and interplay of support needs

Support needs are mainstream but barriers are special: the principles of service response

Conclusions

4. Children’s involvement in domestic and ‘caring’ work: new insights

Introduction

Identifying ‘young carers’

Rhetoric and reality: what do children actually do?

‘Young carer’ service provision

‘Young caring’ in context

Conclusions

5. The life course: dimensions of change in parenting and disability

Introduction

Impairment, disability and the life course

Changes in family composition

Parenting over time

Recent changes in parental impairment: onset and variability

Looking to the future

Conclusions

6. Individuals, families and relationships

Introduction

Disability, relationships and parenting

The social model, impairment and illness

Conclusions

7. Conclusion

Introduction

Challenges for disability theory, policy and practice

Towards more equal opportunities

Children, parents and the meaning attached to domestic and ‘caring’ work

Future directions

APPENDIX ONE: Methods

Introduction

Stage One

Stage Two

Recruitment

Data management and analysis

APPENDIX TWO: Comparisons with the ‘Looking After Children’ (LAC) community sample

References

Index