Saluting Dads!

Father’s Day is coming up and we want to take a moment to recognize dads of all kinds: Dads with disabilities, fathers of children with disabilities, fathers who are caregivers, adoptive and foster fathers, fathers-in-law, grandfathers, even that awesome guy you would be honored to call Dad even though you’re not related.

Parenting is a challenge for anyone. Parenting with a disability presents additional levels of difficulty from the physical challenges of carrying, feeding, and changing an infant when you have limited mobility, to providing a stable home life when facing psychiatric disability.

Resources for Parenting with a Disability from NIDILRR Grantees:

• AbleData offers AT for Parenting with a Disability highlighting technology solutions
• Through the Looking Glass and the National Center for Parents with Disabilities has a Library of publications including
  • Guide for Teachers Concerning Parents with Disabilities and Their Children (PDF)
  • Check out their DVD series on parenting techniques and adaptations (available for purchase)
• TBI Community and NIDILRR Fellow Kacey Little Maestas published Parenting for Adults with TBI (PDF), also available in Spanish (PDF)
• Shannon Minnick, a mom with tetraplegia and a peer mentor at the RRTC on Prevention of Secondary Conditions in the Rehabilitation of Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), demonstrates how to change and how to burp a baby.
• The Northwest Regional SCI Center recently held a forum to discuss the ABCs of Parenting with an SCI.
• The TA Partnership offers this brief on Supporting Parents with Mental Health Needs (PDF)
• Take a look at these research and consumer publications on parenting with a disability from the NIDILRR community, as well as other sources, available from our collection.

Parents of children with disabilities also face challenges, from understanding and supporting their child’s unique health needs to navigating the educational system.

Resources for Parents of Children with Disabilities from NIDILRR Grantees:

• The Research and Training Center on Pathways to Positive Futures offers Balancing Work and Family Responsibilities: A Guidebook for Parent Support Providers
• Give the Family Support RTC your input on promising practices and where more research is needed.
• Learn about Goal Guide and other software and apps from Cognitopia to help parents support their children with cognitive and developmental disabilities
• Take a moment or two to browse through these research publications on parenting and children with disabilities from the NIDILRR community, as well as the broader research community, indexed in REHABDATA and available from our collection.

In addition to these resources, please visit our Disability Resources section on Families, listing agencies, organizations, and websites to assist parents with disabilities, caregivers, and parents and siblings of children with disabilities.