Family Matters

Wendy Buchanan - Project Leader

Tel: 0286 638 5067

Email: wendy.buchanan@circlesnetwork.org.uk

Circles Network has supported disabled parents with many different impairments for over 10 years. During this time we have collated evidence from many sources that indicates the relationship between professionals involved in family and relationship support and disabled parents is frequently non positive. Furthermore, interventions at times of change, challenge or crisis, are disproportionately more likely to result in child protection proceedings compared with families where neither parent is disabled, this is particularly striking where one or both parents has a learning difficulty.

We have found support arrangements to be formal, didactic, often patronising and judgemental and laden with values reflecting the wider dominant medical model of disability. We have also found that many of the approaches have focussed more specifically on parenting skills in a practical sense, rather than address the wider implications of relationship difficulties which may exist along with the additional pressures that result from everyday interaction within a disabling society. A parent does not act in isolation, there are complex internal and external relationship dynamics which impact on the family unit.

Where one or both parents is disabled these dynamics can become far more complex and it is crucial family support addresses this appropriately. The alternative is an expansion of the current situation where too many families experience break down at incalculable cost to the parents, children and society as a whole.

The Objectives of the project are to: 

• Establish a solid foundation informed by parents' experiences, existing research and a firm grounding in the legal, policy and practice frameworks which will enable us to develop the materials necessary to shift the power balance from the professionals involved in family support to the disabled parents with whom they engage through relationship and parenting support.

• Effect change in current attitudes and practice between professionals who offer family support and the disabled parents with whom they engage through the creation of a unique interactive toolkit

• Design a training course to increase the likelihood that involvement from family support professionals will result in more families remaining healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving and making a positive contribution through the use of the toolkit.

Send mail to: information@circlesnetwork.org.uk with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2008 Circles Network
Last modified: February 05, 2008