Families with children with disabilities - Inequalities and the social model

This article suggests that families with children with disabilities experie nce a range of inequalities that families with children without disabilitie s do not suffer. It draws on a recent qualitative study to illustrate the w ay in which it is not just disabled people, but in the case of disabled chi ldren, whole families that suffer from unequal opportunities and outcomes. We draw on the social model of disability to show that the lives of these f amilies are often characterised by financial hardship, stress and anxiety a s a result of social barriers, prejudices and poorly conceived service prov ision. The social model of disability is usually drawn upon to illustrate t he way in which social organisation disables people with impairments. In th is instance, we illustrate the way in which social organisation disables no t just the family member who has an impairment but the whole family unit. B y applying this model of disability, new ways of creating practices and pol icies for these families can be developed which incorporate their views int o the heart of the policy-making process.