Unshared Care: Parents and Their Disabled Children

The vast majority of the 100,000 or so children with serious mental or physical disabilities in Britain in 1980s lived at home with their families. A series of in-depth interviews carried out with several parents enabled the author to describe the extensive physical, practical, and emotional demands made on those looking after their disabled child at home. In their own words, parents reported how and when they learnt about their child’s disability; the sheer physical work and mental effort ...