Abstract
Families with disabled children represent a sizeable share of all American households. Living with a disabled child can have profound effects on the entire family, which in turn can affect the health and well-being of the child who is disabled. Much needs to be learned about how children’s health affects their parents, siblings, and other family members and about how family characteristics and resources modify those associations. Numerous programs and organizations provide resources for disabled children and their families, but the system is extremely fragmented and difficult to navigate. This commentary reviews what is known about the effects of child disability on the family, provides an overview of the complex needs of and multitude of resources available to families of disabled children, and concludes with suggested directions for practice, research, and public policy.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Stein, R. (2005) Trends in disability in early life. In M. J. Fields, A. M. Jerre, & L. Marin (Eds.), Workshop on disability in America: A new look. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Corman, H., & Kaestner, R. (1992) The effects of child health on marital status and family structure. Demography, 29, 389–408.
Mauldon, J. (1992) Children’s risks of experiencing divorce and remarriage: Do disabled children destabilize marriages? Population Studies, 46, 349–362.
Swaminathan, S., Alexander, G., Boulet, S. (2006). Delivering a very low birth weight infant and the subsequent risk of divorce or separation. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 10, 473–479.
Reichman, N. E., Corman, H., & Noonan, K. (2004) Effects of child health on parents’ relationship status. Demography, 41, 569–584.
Powers, E. T. (2001) Children’s health and maternal work activity: static and dynamic estimates under alternative disability definitions. Journal of Human Resources, 38, 522–556.
Corman, H., Noonan, K., & Reichman, N. E. (2005) Mothers’ labor supply in fragile families: the role of child health. Eastern Economic Journal, 31, 601–616.
Reichman, N. E., Corman, H., & Noonan, K. (2006) Effects of child health on sources of public support. Southern Economic Journal, 73, 136–156.
Noonan, K., Reichman, N. E., & Corman, H. (2005) New fathers’ labor supply: does child health matter? Social Science Quarterly, 86, 1399–1417(&1419).
Seltzer, M. M., Greenberg, J. S., Floyd, F., Pettee, Y., Hong, J. (2001) Life course impacts of parenting a child with a disability. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 106, 265–286.
Sharpe, D., Rossiter, L. (2002) Siblings of children with a chronic illness: a meta-analysis. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 27, 699–710.
Mitchell, W. (2007) Research review: the role of grandparents in intergenerational support for families with disabled children: a review of the literature. Child & Family Social Work, 12, 94–101.
Drotar, D., Hack, M., Taylor, G., Schluchter, M., Andreias, L., Klein, N. (2006) The impact of extremely low birth weight on the families of school-aged children. Pediatrics, 117, 2006–2013.
U.S. Department of Education, IDEA ‘97 General Information. http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/Policy/IDEA/overview.html. Accessed 12 Dec 2006.
Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb/. Accessed 20 Nov 2007.
Pollack, V. P., Pollack, H. A. (2006) Bringing Vincent home. Health Affairs, 25(1), 231–236.
Skotko, B. (2005) Mothers of children with Down Syndrome reflect on their postnatal support. Pediatrics, 115, 64–77.
Porterfield, S. L., McBride, T. D. (2007) The effect of poverty and caregiver education on perceived need and access to health services among children with special health care needs. American Journal of Public Health, 97(2), 323–329.
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. http://www.nichcy.org/. Accessed 12 Dec 2006.
Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights. http://www.pacer.org/index.asp. Accessed 20 Nov 2007.
Social Security Advisory Board. (2006) A disability system for the 21st century. September. http://www.ssab.gov/documents/disability-system-21st.pdf. Accessed 1 Dec 2006.
Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit. (2005) Office of the deputy Prime Minister. Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People. January http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/upload/assets/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/strategy/disability.pdf. Accessed 20 Nov 2007.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the following individuals for helpful conversations: Diane Casale-Giannola, Chrystina Dolyniuk, Michele Kamens, Gail Morris, and Hugh Rockoff.
Funding/Support
Drs. Reichman, Corman and Noonan received salary support from Grant #R01HD45630 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Reichman, N.E., Corman, H. & Noonan, K. Impact of Child Disability on the Family. Matern Child Health J 12, 679–683 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-007-0307-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-007-0307-z