PRESS RELEASE
July 11, 1996

PARENTS WITH DISABILITIES NEEDED
For A National Needs Assessment Survey

Custody battles, school inaccessibility, lack of access to personal assistance services to help in caring for young children, a need for specialized adaptive equipment, housing that is not adequate for parenting: People in the disability community know that parents with disabilities face many challenges. It is unlikely that the disability community will be able to influence policy changes, however, until hard data demonstrate the significance of these issues to families with adults with disabilities.

The opportunity to make a case for parents with disabilities opened in November 1993 when the National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education awarded a four-year grant to Through the Looking Glass (TLG) in cooperation with Berkeley Planning Associates (BPA) and the World Institute on Disability. The grant is intended to establish a Research and Training Center (RTC) on families of adults with disabilities.

As part of its role in the RTC, BPA is now conducting the nation's first survey of parents with disabilities to gather information about their parenting challenges, barriers and unique needs. The survey also will document the kinds of service system changes that public policy needs to address. To date, BPA has analyzed the results of the first 792 surveys that have been returned. In the surveys, parents have responded about both the challenges and the blessings of being a parent with a disability. Among the greatest challenges identified by parents were: keeping up with errands and appointments for their children (44%), making recreation opportunities available to children outside the home (42%), chasing and retrieving children (38%), traveling with children outside of the home (37%) and finding accessible parking near child care, school activities, or event locations (37%). Thirty-two percent said they had been discriminated against as a parent with a disability. Overwhelmingly, parents report that the greatest blessing is that their children have learned to be compassionate, accepting and open to diversity.

All survey participants receive a free subscription to Through the Looking Glass' newsletter, Parenting With A Disability, and gain access to TLG's parents' hotline and network. If you are a parent with a disability, open to sharing your experiences, and willing to take a few minutes to complete a mail survey, call or write to:

                    Sabrina Williams
                    Berkeley Planning Associates
                    440 Grand Ave., Ste. 500
                    Oakland, CA 94610
                    1-800-897-0272
                    TDD: (510) 465-4493
                    bpa_rtc(at)dnai.com
The survey is available in many different formats, including large print, braille, audio tape and on a PC or Macintosh diskette.