Report into parent carer forums' experiences of working with health services during the reform of the NHS.
A 2012 Contact a Family report into parent carer forums' experience of working with health services, especially Local Involvement Networks (LINks, during the reform of the NHS. We received responses from over half of the parent carer forums in England, with many reporting that they come up against a number of barriers to raising and prioritising disabled children’s issues through LINks.
Read the full report here
Report into the extent of GP's involvement in disabled children's care.
A 2011 report into how parent view the extent of their GPs involvement in their child's care. We surveyed over 1,000 families with disabled children in England and found that for those that do visit the GP with their child, the quality of care is inconsistent.
Download the full report here
Bullying of children with disabilities and Special Educational Needs in schools.
This paper is part of a suite of briefings for school leaders, teachers and policy makers emerging from the current work of the Anti-Bullying Alliance in conjunction with Contact a Family' research.
Download the briefing paper for parents
Download the briefing paper for schools
Counting the costs 2010
In 2010 Contact a Family followed up the groundbreaking 2008 Counting the costs study. We asked over 1,100 UK parents caring for a disabled child about their current financial situation.
Key findings were:
- Almost a quarter are going without heating (23%). Up from 16% in 2008.
- One in seven (14%) are going without food. Down from 16% in 2008.
- More than half have borrowed money from family or friends (51%) to keep financially afloat or pay for essentials, such as food and heating.Up from 42% in 2008.
- More than 40% have applied for a charity grant.Up from 25% in 2008.
- Almost three quarters (73%) are going without days out and leisure time with the family.Up from 55% in 2008.
Download the full report here
What makes my family stronger: A report into what makes families with disabled children stronger - socially, emotionally and practically
Contact a Family surveyed 615 families with disabled children about their experiences of living in the UK, asking what makes you stronger practically, socially and emotionally.
Key findings of the 'What makes my family stronger' report are:
- Almost 70% of families with disabled children said that understanding and acceptance of disability from their community or society is poor or unsatisfactory.
- Over 60% of families said they don’t feel listened to by professionals.
- Vital support services such as short breaks, a key worker and childcare are unavailable to almost half of families.
- Over 60% of families said they don’t feel valued by society in their role as carers.
- Half of families with disabled children said the opportunity to enjoy play and leisure together is poor or unsatisfactory.
Published May 2009.
Out of reach: benefits for disabled children
Despite a range of government initiatives aiming to reduce child poverty and improving support for disabled children, families affected by disability continue to experience high levels of poverty and social exclusion.
Contact a Family and Child Poverty Action Group have published research looking at the problems faced by families with disabled children accessing welfare entitlements.
Caring for sick or disabled children: Parents' experiences of combining work and care
This study tracked parent carers of sick or disabled
children over a four-year period, and gives a voice to
their experiences, attitudes and aspirations in relation
to combining paid employment and unpaid caring.
Many needed (and wanted) to work to support their families and to have an additional focus away from their caring role. The challenges of combining work and care are particularly significant for parents of sick or disabled children, whose children require more and different parental support, often over a longer period.
Commissioned by Carers UK and Contact a Family, as part of the ACE National (Action for Carers and Employment) partnership.
Poverty and reform of tax credits
Families with disabled children are likely to be poor. These families have higher expenses and lower incomes. Around half of disabled children grow up in, or on the margins of poverty.
Open wide: Families' experiences of accessing dental care for their disabled child
In May, June and July 2005, UK parents with a child with a disability were surveyed on their experiences of NHS dentistry.
Debt and disability: The impact of debt on families with disabled children
In 2004, Contact a Family conducted a survey into debt in conjunction with the Family Fund.
Everybody here? Play and leisure for disabled children and young people
Survey of families experiences of accessing play and leisure services in the UK.
Website surveys
Contact a Family conducts regular surveys through online questionnaires on our website.
Counting the costs
Contact a Family conducted research into how rising living costs have impacted on families with disabled children.
Flexible enough?
Contact a Family conducted research into parents knowledge and use of flexible employment rights.
Childcare costs
Childcare can be a problem for families with disabled children due to the dual difficulty of cost and access to suitable childcare.
National service framework
Contact a Family asked disabled young people and people who care for a disabled child for their views on the National service framework (NSF).
Relationships - No time for us
Contact a Family asked parents of disabled children what effect they thought having a disabled child had had on their relationship.
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Cash Counts
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