AGENCY PAPER
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AGENCY PAPER: Federation for Children with Special Needs
AGENCY PAPER
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Living with a disabled child can have profound effects on the entire family–parents,
siblings, and extended family members. It is a unique shared experience for families and can
affect all aspects of family functioning. On the positive side, it can broaden horizons, increase
family members’ awareness of their inner strength, enhance family cohesion, and encourage
connections to community groups or religious institutions. On the negative side, the time and
financial costs, physical and emotional demands, and logistical complexities associated with
raising a disabled child can have far-reaching effects as we describe below. The impacts will
likely depend on the type of condition and severity, as well as the physical, emotional, and
financial wherewithal of the family and the resources that are available. For parents, having a
disabled child may increase stress, take a toll on mental and physical health, make it difficult to
find appropriate and affordable child care, and affect decisions about work, education/training,
