DPPI Journal - Index of past articles
How to order past articles
The DPPI journal aims to build bridges between disabled parents and their professional allies.
The DPPI Journal started in 1993. It includes many articles, book and equipment reviews, and news items that continue to be of interest. These past articles are available from DPPI, however you should be aware that some details may have changed over the years, since original publication.
What follows is a list of articles in every DPPI Journal published.
Back issues cost:
£5 each in the UK
£6 each elsewhere
Reprints of individual articles cost:
£2 each in the UK
£3 each elsewhere
Please make cheques (in £ sterling) payable to DPPI for the correct amount, indicating which article from which DPPI Journal you would like to receive. Please print you name and delivery address clearly and send with cheque and order instructions to:
DPPI
Unit F9, 89-93 Fonthill Road
London, N4 3JH, UK
Phone: 0800 018 4730
Textphone: 0800 018 9949
Fax: 020 7263 6399
email: info@dppi.org.uk
Disabled people in the UK wanting particular articles would be advised to contact DPPI UK Information Service direct, as information, including relevant articles are provided free of charge to disabled people.
Issue 1 - January 1993
Disabled parents & professionals unite: UK conference report
Good practice: Supporting disabled mothers in British Columbia: the Childbearing & Parenting Programme for women with a physical disability or chronic illness
Guidelines for midwives
Hands-on parentcraft classes for visually impaired women
Through the Looking Glass: peer professionals working with disabled parents in California
Labour afloat: disabled women using birthpools
Publications: High chairs and children
A day in the life: UK
Issue 2 - April 1993
Righting the picture: images of disabled parents
Supporting the pregnant woman who is disabled: guidelines for health professionals
Sinal cord injury & labour: the road to a safe delivery for tetraplegic women
Forewarned is forearmed: the management of autonomic hyper-reflexia in labour
Pioneers in partnership: the Women's Clinic at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
Conference report: parenting with a disability
Publications: My mum needs me
A day in the life: Budapest, Hungary
Issue 3 - July 1993
Who's carrying the baby?
Parents in wheelchairs & the problem of baby transportation
Use of prams & pushchairs by visually impaired parents
Product review: baby slings
Supporting the pregnant woman who is disabled: guidelines for health professionals
Harvesting health in harmony: the Health Resource Centre for Women with Disabilities in Chicago
A day in the life: London, England
Issue 4 - October 1993
Is parenting an activity of daily living? Getting personal assistance with childcare
A ramp to parenting: the testimony of Leigh Campbell-Earl
Carrying on: update on baby carriers for wheelchair users
Help or hindrance? Practitioners working with parents with learning difficulties
The Special Parenting Service: Supporting parents with learning difficulties
Testing, testing, the new eugenics? The impact of the new reproductive technologies on disabled people
Publications: Getting into health
A day in the life: Italy
Issue 5 - January 1994
A quest for accessible baby cribs
Maternity care for the Deaf: a midwife's mission
Pregnancy, parenthood & Parkinson's disease
Resources on pregnancy & parenting for people with learning difficulties
Publications: I thought I was the only one; Mothers pride & prejudice; Listen to us for a change
A day in the life: Kampala, Uganda
Issue 6 - April 1994
Backing the expert: enabling disabled parents to meet their personal assistance needs
A joint initiative: Supporting mothers with arthritis
Disabled women making choices: where to receive reproductive health services
Both sides of the fence: a midwifes experience of becoming a disabled mother, part 1. Personal experience of pregnancy and birth by a woman with a spinal cord injury.
Publications: You and your child
A day in the life: Midwife, Bali
Issue 7 - July 1994
The bumpy road to adoption
Testing reality: The challenges of prenatal testing for disabled women
Choosing or refusing prenatal tests: Making conscious decisions
Equipment information for parents with disabilities
A midwife's tale of disabled motherhood, part 2. Personal experience of the postnatal period by a woman with a spinal cord injury.
Publications: Reproductive issues for people with disabilities; Musn't grumble
A day in the life: England
Issue 8 - October 1994
Adoption: your letters
Focus on fatherhood: Rugby, relationships & raising a son. Personal experience of a man with a spinal cord injury.
Focus on fatherhood: Fertility treatment for men with spinal injuries
Childcare equipment for disabled parents
Practical tips on parenting with a visual impairment
Publications: Childbirth education for women with disabilities and their partners; Table manners: a guide to the pelvic examination for disabled women and health care providers
Issue 9 - January 1995
Birth reports: childbirth for women with spina bifida
And so to bed: Accessible cots of disabled parents
Holiday Connections: A new approach to supporting parents with learning difficulties in Denmark
Teleconferencing: Peer support for parents with visual impairments
Publications: Mother, father Deaf
Issue 10 - April 1995
Deaf mothers: The need to understand
Room to grow: Planning a domestic nursery
Families at risk? Disabled parents with child protection
Mum, dad and I.T.: Aids to parenting with a visual impairment
Publications: Families first: a study of disabled parents of school-aged children and their families.
Issue 11 - Jul 1995
An inclusive philosophy of care: Good practice in maternity services
Learning to adapt: Aids and equipment for childcare
First hand experience: How parents with leaning difficulties learn to parent
What price freedom? Disabled parents and child safety
Publications: Are we there yet?; Boots for a bridesmaid
Issue 12 - October 1995
No specialist hospital birth: visually impaired mothers in hospital
Family holiday snapshots: two accounts of holiday abroad
Through the Looking Glass: Update from pioneering Californian organisation
Breathe easy: a personal experience of asthma and pregnancy
Slings, slings and more slings! product reviews
There's no monster in my house: overcoming the prejudices of other parents
Publications: Homegrown - the harvest will last a lifetime
Issue 13 - January 1996
Caterpillars & butterflies: a mother with cerebral palsy describes her experiences of childbirth
Childbirth for women with cerebral palsy: considerations for the childbirth professional
Join the class? An antenatal teacher's experience of supporting a mother with CP
Along the right lines: three accounts of disabled parents' involvement with their children's schools
Launching forth: a new German initiative to recognise the needs of disabled parents
Equipment: A baby carrier custom-built for dad (wheelchair user)
Parents Together: A new advocacy project to support parents with learning difficulties
Publications: When a parent has a brain injury: sons & daughters speak out; My dad's had a head injury
Issue 14 - April 1996
Childbirth & ME (CFIDS)
Watch my lips: the making of a Deaf awareness trainer
Product review: feeding cushions
Bedside parents: staying in hospital with a sick child
Good support from social services: one family's experience
Publications: Brief lives: parents writing about the death of a baby.
Issue 15 - July 1996
The right kind of help: a tribute to my health visitors. Personal experience of a blind mother of four children.
To baby... or not to baby: a question of informed choice. Personal experience of planning a pregnancy by a woman with muscular dystrophy and a man who is a wheelchair user.
Drive on: finding the right child car seat
Disabled parents and social services
Networking in Europe: organisations of disabled parents
Publications: Maybe another day
Issue 16 - October 1996
Letter from a Canadian woman with a spinal injury, describing her experience of pregnancy and birth.
Parenting and ankylosing spondylitis: report of a new survey
Right from the start: maternity services for people with learning disabilities
Practical tips: for supporting pregnant women with learning difficulties (1)
Meeting the dreams of parents: the importance of adaptive equipment
It's party time! organizing children's birthday celebrations
Towards womanhood: information, choice and role models
Oven-ready chick seduces dead rat! sex and the disabled woman
Publications: The sexual politics of disability; Untold desires
Issue 17 - January 1997
Multiple sclerosis & motherhood: personal experience and resources
Successful breastfeeding: a paraplegic mother's experience
Successful breastfeeding: tips and resources
I do/I don't want to be a mother: report of Dutch seminar for disabled women
Birth coaching: women with learning disabilities
Around the world: the azores
Issues 18 - April 1997
Your letters: expert advice on preparing for a new baby
A calculated risk? Taking necessary drugs in pregnancy
Bottle feeding your baby: tips and equipment ideas
We have babies too! motherhood and Friedreich's ataxia
Publications: Helping children with ill or disabled parents
Around the world: lovely parents in Japan
Issues 19 - July 1997
Fatherhood: becoming a father
Guilty by association? Disabled fathers contesting support
Dads are not optional: involving disabled fathers in childcare
Equipment: Are the British a bunch of masochists? A discussion on child car seats
Talking about having children: a day for people with learning difficulties
Publications: Getting to know Sandra; Tell me again what happens; Exceptional childhoods, unexceptional children: growing up with parents who have learning difficulties
Around the world: disabled parents meet on the internet
Issue 20 - October 1997
Pregnant and disabled: a recipe for change. Article by a midwife.
Having a baby when you are disabled: what to ask
Those weaning, cleaning days: tips on starting your baby on solids
Hakuna mattata: on safari with wheelchair and wildebeest
Publications: Disabled parents - dispelling the myths
Around the world: two women and a baby in the Netherlands
Issue 21 - January 1998
Caesarean by choice: two disabled women's birth accounts
Anaesthesia for elective caesarean section. Article by a consultant anaesthetist.
Tips for toilet training
Kids’ talk: what's it like to have a disabled parent
Research: Parenting by people with learning disabilities: the role of the community nurse
Research: Challenges and strategies of disabled parents, findings from the national needs survey of parents with disabilities
Around the world: Zimbabwe
Issue 22 - April 1998
Child's play: make it fun for both of you
The pleasure of play: playing with children when you have arthritis
Equipment: Birth of an accessible baby crib
Deaf motherhood: A personal experience
Health advocacy for deaf mothers
Kids’ talk: What its like to have a deaf mother?
Research forum: Pregnancy and maternal hydrocephalus
Parents with learning difficulties: family support and services project at the University of Sydney, Australia
Publications: Challenges in midwifery care.
Issue 23 - July 1998
Epilepsy and motherhood: personal experiences
Midwife support for a mother with epilepsy
Epilepsy and pregnancy: what to ask
Practical safety tips
Seizure alert dogs: Improving safety for people with epilepsy
Parents Together: advocacy for parents with learning difficulties
Educating Richard: a disabled mother's experience of teaching her son at home
Through the Looking Glass: new US National Resource Center for parents with disabilities
Research: Parenting and disability: what support is needed?
Issue 24 - October 1998
Let common sense prevail: disabled mother keeps her baby
Equipment: accessible cribs: the clip-on bed-cot (+ update from DPPI 29, Jan 2000)
Customising childcare equipment: Rollator child carrier, Eazy Feet for nappy changing
The development of a service for parents with learning difficulties
Kids’ talk: Alex James, aged thirteen, talks about his mother's involvement with his schools.
Research: Communication skills of children who parents have multiple sclerosis
Publications: Growing up with parents who have learning difficulties
Around the world: support for disabled parents: Germany, South Africa, Israel
Issue 25 - January 1999
Water birth at home. Clare Brook has a chronic back condition. In DPPi issue no. 21 she talked about the delivery of her first child by Caesarean section. This is the very different story of the birth of her second baby
Equipment: the Brio bedsite cot
Mother leads the way: The ‘terrible twos’
How our son learned to ride a bicycle
Kids’ talk: the best mum
The twins’ tale: Ann and Stuart Wright have a daughter, Samantha, aged 12. They desperately wanted more children. After seven years without success, they resorted to assisted conception (pregnancy diary).
Right From The Start conference report: Maternity services for women with learning difficulties
Publications: On the edge of Deaf culture-hearing children/Deaf parents
Issue 26 - April 1999
Arrest and trial of disabled mother in the USA
Motherhood before and after a stroke: Anne Collins’ son Sean was 27 months old when she had a stroke. Afterwards, she was anxious to know whether she would be able to have another baby…
Health, homelessness and midwifery care: community liaison in South Manchester
Forward together against the odds. Penny Roberts sustained spinal injuries in a parachuting accident in 1995. she has tetra plegia with some movement in her arms and wrists. Her partner left when she was eleven weeks pregnant. The local social services discussed separating Penny and her new-born son Peter, because of the extra support needed. DPPi highlighted her situation in issue 24. Now she talks about her first six months with Peter.
Equipment: a height-adjustable hospital crib
RESPECT: Research into midwifery education and services: Good practice in maternity services
Publications: Bigger than the sky: disabled women on parenting.
Publication: Young carers and their families
Publication: Advocacy for parents with learning difficulties
Issue 27 - July 1999
Multiple sclerosis and fatherhood
Reflections on multiple sclerosis, pregnancy and childbirth
The role of the MS nurse
Family fun at Frimhurst. A mother with learning difficulties whose children are in care describes holidays with her children.
Doing it for themselves: a support group for mothers with learning difficulties
Painful decisions. Muscular dystrophy: to be or not to be parent?
Equipment: Over to you!
Publications: Butterfly fingers and other stories: a collection of short stories for young children and their grown-ups.
Research: Working together for child health and safety in New South Wales
Issue 28 - October 1999
Planning ahead and sharing solutions. Simone Baker, who is affected by thalidomide, talks about bringing up her baby.
Fostering: let's fill in the forms.
Disabled foster carers, Bristol: a developing story.
Fostering and adoption through Barnardos
Books about adoption and fostering: Adopting a child; First steps in parenting the child who hurts (2 vols).
Positive problem solving. Personal experience with an emphasis on equipment by a father with partial paralysis following a stroke.
Childcare equipment reviews: Caboodle changing bag; Tomy two-way baby monitor.
Supporting a couple with learning difficulties through pregnancy
From birth to school days. Angela Green talks about her experience as a mother with visual impairment
Inclusive antenatal classes
Publication: Krücken, Babys and Barrieren (Crutches, babies and barriers) by Gisela Hermes (Germany).;
Maternity services for parents with learning difficulties: a report of the partnership of midwives, community nurses and parents
Research: Disabled families: looking at the experience of parenting from the point of view of disabled parents
US Parent-to-Parent Network
Issue 29 - January 2000
The DPPI Information Service: one year on
Parenthood and muscular dystrophy
New sections of the UK Disability Discrimination Act: have they made a difference?
A family with multiple sclerosis
Research: Provision of public services for disabled parents
Research: Disability, families and the need for healthcare
Publication: Special Parenting Service parenting skills cards, I want to be a good parent… series
Issue 30 - April 2000
The time is right: the launch of the UK Disabled Parents Network
Arthritis is not my life. Caroline and Martin Bricknell have a six year old daughter. Caroline talks about how having rheumatoid arthritis has affected her family.
The North Hertfordshire Special Parenting Network
Living with chronic pain: Deborah Morgan-Graham discusses the dilemmas she faced when she became pregnant.
Information sources and references on prescribed drugs in pregnancy and breastfeeding
Publication: The parenting book for persons with a disability: from planning your family to raising adolescents
Publication: Adaptive baby care equipment: guidelines, prototypes and resources
Issue 31 - July 2000
Small treasures. Personal experience of a mother with multiple sclerosis.
Looking back at life with an invisible disability. Personal experience of deaf grandparents.
Equipment: Equipped? Report of a survey about childcare equipment and disabled parents.
DPPI at Naidex
The P.A.L.S. (Parenting, Advocacy, Learning and Support) Project: supporting parents who have learning difficulties in Birmingham
Some resources for disabled parents around the world
Finding your way through the maze: disabled parents’ rights to social support services in England and Wales
Publications: A jigsaw of services: inspection of services to support disabled adults in their parenting role.
Happy ever afters: a storybook guide to teaching children about disability
Issue 32 - October 2000
Fighting for the support to parent: a personal experience of a mother with cerebral palsy
Equipment: The Baby and Child International Fair, Adapted childcare equipment and disabled parents, Baby care equipment for disabled parents in California
Housing for Independence. Short report of a project run by Women's Design Service, UK.
A lesson for life. Personal experience of a hard-of-hearing mother.
Research: Parenting, disability and young carers
Issue 33 - January 2001
Personal choices. A mother with cerebral palsy and two young children, writes about her experience of becoming a mother.
Look Ahead: a project supporting blind and visually impaired parents
Just the Same - but a little different: Sunderland Support for Parents with Disabilities, research project and conference report
“You poor old soul”. She used to pick him up from school in a blue three-wheeler, and occasionally he would have to cook dinner. But most of the time, Peter Stanford did not even notice his mother (who had multiple sclerosis) was disabled. He just wishes the same could be said of other people…
Disabled Parents and the ‘young carers’ debate
Research Forum - Disabled parents and support: report of findings of study into experiences and support needs
Issue 34 - April 2001
Letter from a visually impaired mother
‘Alien’ parenting: Experiences of a mother with Asperger's syndrome
The Disabled Mother's Advocacy Project: WECIL - report
Childcare equipment ideas: Baby Roll: the roll out changing room
Equipment: Cosy Tots ‘Travel Wrap’ and non-slip mats
‘Making the pieces fit‘: supporting disabled adults in their parenting role - conference report from Northamptonshire, UK
Respond project for parents with learning difficulties
Publications: What works with parents with learning difficulties; Incurably human; Independent successes; Parents with a disability and the NSW children's court - disability and discrimination in statutory child protection proceedings; Good times, bad times: women with learning difficulties telling their stories; Community care and the law.
Issue 35 - July 2001
Your letters - speeding up adoption process concerns
The forgotten needs of visually impaired parents (personal experience); The added support needs of visually impaired parents with sighted children (personal experience/research), Got it taped (personal experience).
Talking to children about illness and loss - tips and review of The secret C.
Just baby and me (plus seven assistants) - single mum with spinal injury, experience of using direct payments and ILF to support her and her young son.
Can disabled people be supported as parents? - advice on rights to support and direct payments.
Research Forum - Information and support during pregnancy (findings from a NCT survey)
Publications - Mother knows best: parents with learning difficulties and their children (Book review)
Issue 36 - October 2001
I felt I was being blamed: improving support to parents with learning difficulties. A feature, including the stories of three parents with learning difficulties
Barriers to justice facing parents with learning difficulties - summary of a briefing paper presented at a Department of Health seminar June 2000.
Supporting parents with learning difficulties - summary of paper Achieving inclusion through networks of support based on work of the Circles Network.
Access to schools: lessons to be learnt - personal experience of a mother with ME.
Getting involved in your child's education - summary of relevant aspects of UK law and tips for disabled parents, plus a report on disabled parents’ involvement in their children's school education in New South Wales, Australia.
Deafhood conference - report of seminar on Deaf Parenting: Gaps in Services at conference organised by The Royal Association for Deaf People.
Issue 37 - January 2002
Disabled Parent Support Worker report - overview of first four months in post
Back to basics: mothers with back conditions talk about parenting - personal experiences and practical strategies
Obstetric Anaesthetists Association - overview of aims and activities
Parenting with a disability - report of a workshop for occupational therapists
Perspectives on family life - four parents share their parenting experiences
Publications: Positive and negative attitudes - experience of a dad with MS and review of book My Dad's got MS,
Moving forward- sterilisation and reproductive health of women and girls with disabilities - book review
Issue 38 - April 2002
Your letters - helping in schools to improve acceptance
National Centre for Disabled Parents celebrates with an open afternoon - report on open afternoon with messages of support.
Square peg in a round hole? Challenging isolation and barriers - blind woman's experiences of pregnancy, antenatal care, labour, practical strategies for baby care, challenging professional scrutiny, and researching barriers to parenthood.
Childcare equipment: parents share their comments and experiences. Includes personal experience, practical strategies and equipment, (including indoor hoist) by a mother with back problems, review of a highchair with wheels by a thalidomide impaired mother, and a review of the Rabbitts Mat changing mat by a mum who is visually impaired.
Research Forum - Supporting disabled adults in their parenting role: a ‘findings’ paper reprinted with permission of the JRF - findings from research into Social Services policies and protocols for providing services to disabled parents.
Publications: More than getting through the gate - the involvement of parents who have a disability in their children's school education in NSW. Pregnancy and childbirth - publication by British Institute of Learning Disabilities. New beginnings: how will they grow and Adults… ready or not! - published by Positive Parenting in print, Braille and audiotape format. Review of audiotape version.
Issue 39 - July 2002.
Celebrating the lives and rights of disabled parents - a report of the 2nd International Conference on Parents with Disabilities and their Families in California.
Parent Support Project: demonstrating the value of assistive technology - report of a project in Idaho, USA.
Disabled parents: good practice for mainstream parent support projects and organisations - report, good practice checklist and useful contacts.
Deaf Parents: gaps in services video launch - report on new video and launch.
Disabled parents personal development course - evaluation of a pilot project in Northamptonshire, UK.
Publications: The strengths and needs of black families in which young people have caring responsibilities - brief note on report.
Issue 40 - October 2002.
A roller coaster ride: questions but no answers - experiences of a mother from Canada with spinal cord injury, pregnancy, birth, early weeks, frustrations at little information and surviving post-partum depression.
Of sound mind: impossible expectations - experiences of a mother in Canada with a mental illness, issues for parents - competency and credibility, motherhood and mental illness, side effects and medication.
Equipment: Baby and Child International Fair - report of visit to UK nursery equipment trade fair and latest new equipment and developments.
A training module for occupational therapy students - UK review of the Through the looking Glass (USA) training module and relevance to the UK context, raising issues of ‘gaps’ in training, the need for research and evidence and suggestions for a way forward.
The maternity needs of disabled women - specialist midwife/disability advisor updates on progress and learning from work in Canada.
Research: Deaf parents’ access to services - difficulties accessing services leading to disenfranchisement from key concepts of parental partnership and support, lack of understanding of Deaf parental issues leading to inappropriate assessment/intervention by professionals and recommendations for the future.
Understanding Deaf parents with hearing children - Abstract review: issues and experiences of parents and suggestions for professionals and parents.
Issue 41 - Winter 2002/3
Viewpoint - choosing the right school.
Parents experience: Achieving my dream - a disabled parent from Uzbekistan tells her story.
Good practice: Working together for change - a visually impaired parent comments on her experience with maternity services.
Good practice: Also 10 years of progress: highlights from the journal archives reflecting events making a difference to disabled parents’ lives.
Resources: Review of new Ricability guide - Bottles, warmers and sterilisers.
Research: Sharing good practice - seminars on supporting disabled parents and calling disabled researchers.
Issue 42 - Spring 2003
Viewpoint: Helping children with homework.
Parents experience: Parenting teenagers: growing up and moving on. An overview of various issues aroud parenting teenagers, highlighting the experiences of some disabled parents.
Good practice: Tailor-made maternity services - a case study from the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham, UK. Describes the achievements of a multi-professional working group that has developed new systems for referral, assessment, care and support.
Resources: Review of Ricability guide - Baby carriers. Also round-up of new resources.
Research: Disabled parents talking together, report of a participatory research project with the Sunderland Support for Parents with Disabilities group.
Issue 43 Summer 2003
Viewpoint: When legal help is needed. Short article on Family law, community care law and choosing a solicitor.
Parents experience: The challenges of lone parenting. Three parents share their story.
Good practice: It shouldn’t be down to luck. Highlights of the consultation report from Disabled Parents Network on access to information and services to support parenting. Recommendations for good practice.
Resources: Reviews of two new books - Parenting and disability by R.Olsen and H.Clarke (2003) and Children of disabled parents by T.Newman (2003)
Research: Disabled mothers in Germany. Gisela hermes, Director of the German Research and Traiing Institute on Self-determined Living (bifos), describes the situation of mothers with disabilities in Germany and a survey about the need for adaptive equipment and personal assistance.
Issue 44- Autumn 2003
Viewpoint: Having a Second Child. What do disabled parents see as the pros and cons of having a second child? What helps them make a decision? Here, three disabled mothers explore the issues.
Parents experience: Challenging ‘the system’. Karen Whitehead talks about the challenges of parenting, living and working with osteoporosis.
Good practice: Parent/professional partnership. Nicky Hunter is an occupational therapist with the Spinal Outreach Team at Queensland Spinal Cord Injury Service, Princess Alexandra Hospital and Health Services District in Australia. She describes the innovative and collaborative approach of the Spinal Outreach Team.
Good practice: The right support. An overview of the conference at which The right support: report of the Task Force on Supporting Disabled Adults in their Parenting Role was launched. Chris Lawrence-Pietroni, a disabled parent working on strategic policy development with a number of local authorities, reviews the report.
Resources: Examining research assumptions. Katy Baily, disabled parent and research student at the Centre for Disability Studies, Leeds University, UK, reviews Disabled parents: examining research assumptions by Richard Olsen and Michele Wates.
Issue 45- Winter 2003/2004
Viewpoint: Adoption and fostering In the past, disabled parents have found it difficult to be taken seriously as potential adoptive parents. Is this still the case? Two parents and a social worker respond.
Parents experience: Positive parenting. Three disabled parents share their experiences of parenting disabled children.
Good practice: Support group for mums with MS. Fran Jackson, an MS specialist nurse at Greater Manchester Centre for Neurosciences, UK, writes about a support group for mothers who have multiple sclerosis.
Resources: Equipment for disabled parents. Claire Coult describes how she carries her son on her electric scooter. Gisele Hermes reports on a competition in Germany to design adaptive equipment. Robin Chapman outlines his involvement with a local equipment scheme and his goal of getting parenting equipment ‘in the cupboard’.
Research: Family trials. Researchers Wendy Booth and Tim Booth of the Department of Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield, and David McConnell of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, write about findings from a study of child protection cases involving parents with learning difficulties.
Issue 46- Spring 2004
Viewpoint: Disabled grandparenting. Personal experience of a blind parent and grandparent with three children and two grand children, and a grandmother with rheumatoid arthritis.
Parents experience: Creating workable boundaries. Heléna Karnström, a disabled parent, is founding member and former Chair of the Stockholm Co-operative for Independent Living, Sweden. This article is based on a presentation given at a seminar, Positive Parenting: Lessons from Northern Europe. It describes her experience as a mother with spinal muscular atrophy.
Parents experience: Positive about motherhood. Rachel Williams, of Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, UK, writes about her experiences of antenatal care, giving birth and early parenthood as a disabled mother.
Good practice: Meeting individual needs. Rachel Williams describes her difficulties in obtaining accessible housing. Dianne Jones, health visitor, and Brenda Stevenson, parent support worker, describe the support that Sure Start provides.
Resources: Equipment ideas. Lifting and carrying a baby or young child may be difficult for many disabled parents. Adapted equipment may help but there is little available commercially. We look at some examples of equipment that has been custom designed for use by individual parents, including an adapted buggy for a bother with a lower back injury, a one-handed baby sling, height adjustable trolley for a mother with arthritis, a baby lifter for a mother with general weakness, pushchair brake for a mother with epilepsy, baby seat/rollator adaptation, trailer for use with a Mini Crosser scooter.
Resources: They said what?. Review of a publication exploring some common myths about disabled parents and community care legislation.
Issue 47- Summer 2004
Viewpoint: Parenting support needs. We explore the experiences of disabled parents who employ a childminder or live-in assistant, and how parents deal with some of the issues involved.
Parents experience: Creative approach to parenting. Tracey Johnston of Poole, Dorset, UK, talks about her experience of stroke and motherhood, and how she adjusted successfully to one-handed parenting.
Good practice: Practical parenting. Occupational therapists, Nelly Stanbury, of the Oxford Centre for Enablement, UK, and Shelley Garrett, of the Community Neuro Rehabilitation Team, Hackney, London, UK, write about practical childcare ideas that may be useful for parents who use one hand.
Good practice: Increasing Deaf awareness. Report on a Deaf parenting seminar held in London, a new CD-ROM for parents of Deaf children, and a new book, Pregnancy and birth - a guide for deaf women.
Resources: In control of bedtime. Sue Searle of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK, describes how using a particular baby sleeping bag has helped her have control of her son's bedtime.
Resources: Disabled parents and schools: book review
Research: Equal opportunity and inclusion. Describes the development of a self-assessment toolkit for disabled parents.
Issue 48 - Winter 2004/5
Viewpoint: Out and About: safety issues. Some tips from disabled parents on giving children maximum latitude while, at the same time, keeping them safe.
Parents experience: Enjoying quality time. Yuen Har Tse, who is registered blind and lives in the UK, talks about the struggle she had to find help to enable her to take her children out.
Parents experience: Get the most from the internet. Corbett O’Toole of Berkeley California, USA, and Carrie Lucas of Denver Colorado, USA, look at the internet from the perspective of disabled parents, and its role in providing information, resources, support and services.
Good practice: Choice, equity and accessibility. Michele Wates comments on some key points in the maternity services section of the National Service Framework (UK).
Resources: ‘Spot-on guide’ to high chairs. Sue Searle of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK, reviews A guide for parents with disabilities: highchairs, published by Ricability.
Research: Transitions through pregnancy. Jackie Topp, a disabled parent and researcher in her final year at The Open University, describes her on-going study of the experiences of disabled women during pregnancy.
Issue 49 - Spring 2005
Viewpoint: Access to family leisure facilities. Some parents comment on their experiences of accessing parent and toddler groups, and leisure facilities.
Parents experience: Adapting to change. Della Sharp, a mother with cerebral palsy, describes how she developed her own ways of adapting to motherhood.
Parents experience: Deaf parenting: the silent bond. Dawn Colclasure of California, USA, shares her feelings and experience of being a deaf parent and explains how she began writing.
Good practice: Parenting with a visual impairment. Vicky Prahin, who is visually impaired, is an instructor at the Hadley School for the Blind in Winnetka, Illinois, USA. She describes the parenting courses currently offered by the school.
Resources: Making information accessible. Sharon Kirkby of CHANGE, a UK national organisation for people with learning disabilities, reports on the launch of its handbook, You and your baby 0-1 year. Debbie Vearnals and Denise Monks of Stockport Community Team for Parents with a Learning Disability, review the book.
Research: Childcare products for all? Lindsey Etchell, Principal Researcher at Ricability (Research Institute for Consumer Affairs), London, UK, describes a project to assess a range of mainstream childcare products for ease of use by disabled parents.
Issue 50 - Summer 2005
Fiftieth issue: From the editors. Christine Winwood, Honorary Editor, DPPI journal, and Mukti Jain Campion, first editor of DPPi, look back at the experience and vision that led to the founding of the journal.
Parents experience: Life is about helping each other Tanni Grey Thompson, Britain's best known and most successful Paralympic athlete, reflects on life as a disabled parent and challenges society's attitudes to disability and parenthood.
Special feature: Housing and disabled parents Michele Wates, writer, researcher and disabled mother, describes the huge difference that could be made to disabled parents' lives if their housing needs were suitably met.
Flexible housing solutions needed Claudia Downing, Fellow at the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, UK, explores the importance of appropriate housing and the need for flexible solutions.
Good practice: Positive aspects of deaf parenting Claire Ingham, Secretary of Children of Deaf Parents UK, talks about the challenges facing deaf parents, and the ethos and aspirations of a new organisation dedicated to providing support and promoting positive aspects of deaf parenting.
Good practice: Parents with learning difficulties Mahmuda Murshed, a disabled parent, shares her thoughts about her work at The Elfrida Society in London, UK. Kathy Saunders, disabled parent and Disabled Parents Network contact in Norfolk, UK, reviews Learning curves by Penny Morgan and Andy Goff.
Resources: New publications Cath Turner, Social Worker, Kingston-upon-Thames, reviews Disabled parents and their children: building a better future, a discussion document by Tony Newman and Michele Wates. Julie Brown, Parentcraft Co-ordinator, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK, reviews The disabled woman's guide to pregnancy and birth by Judith Rogers.
Issue 51 - Autumn 2005
Viewpoint: Out and about on a wheelchair. Highlights one parent's experience of the school run.
Avenue to independence. Shanta Everington (UK) and Denise Ganley (New Zealand) write about the legal issues involved in carrying a baby or child on a wheelchair. Ella Callow and Christi Tuleja (USA), look in detail at the practical and legal aspects of carrying children when using a wheelchair.
Parents experience: Love lessons. Amy Blanchard (USA) shares her experience as a mother with spina bifida.
Good practice: Deaf parenting: tailor-made support. Nicole Campbell, Co-ordinator of Deaf Parenting UK, describes innovative pilot courses offering skills training specifically designed for deaf parents. Ruth Howard, Postnatal Leader with the National Childbirth Trust, UK, describes the value of Early Days courses for one deaf mother and the importance and process of inclusion.
Research: Housing: choice is the key. Based on a survey of wheelchair users, one of the largest carried out in the UK, Bob Sapey, Jennifer Harris and John Stewart suggest that disabled parents want to be in a position to choose when, where and whether to move home.
Issue 52 - Winter 2005/2006
Viewpoint: Value of direct payments. Julia Winter, disabled mother and Direct Payment Support Services Manager for Essex Coalition of Disabled People, UK, talks about her experiences of using direct payments.
Parents’ experience: Postnatal depression: my experience. Lesley Rands (UK), is registered blind. Here she describes her experience of postnatal depression and the steps she had to take to regain her confidence in her parenting abilities after the birth of her third child.
Parents’ experience: A disabled inheritance. Emma Bowler (UK) explores the question of disability inheritance, and the decision-making process on whether or not to have children.
Good practice: Perinatal mental health care pathway. Jackie Rotheram, disabled mother and Specialist Midwife and Disability Adviser at Liverpool Women's Hospital (UK), describes a new service which addresses the needs of women with perinatal mental health issues.
Resources: New briefings and books. Lesley Rands, reviews Eyes without sparkle, a personal account of a women who experienced puerperal psychosis (the most severe form of postnatal depression) following the birth of her first child. Cath Turner reviews the Information briefings from Disabled Parents Network.
Research: Adjustment to parental spinal cord injury. Clinical psychologist, Karen Wright, describes research she conducted in the UK which examined children's adjustment to a parent's spinal cord injury, using responses from children and their parents.
Number 53/54 - Spring/Summer 2006
Viewpoint: Epilepsy: proving them wrong. A mother talks about her experiences of parenting with epilepsy.
Parents experience: Epilepsy: pre-pregnancy planning. Susan Cole (UK) describes her experiences of epilepsy, and argues that women with epilepsy need more research so they can make informed choices about planning a pregnancy.
Good practice: Mothers in mind campaign. Nicole Crosby, women's officer at Epilepsy Action, UK, looks at the issues faced by women with epilepsy who are thinking about starting a family and describes the organisation's Mothers in mind campaign.
Good practice: Finding the right support. Beth Tarleton, of the Norah Fry Research Centre, Bristol, UK, describes a project which helps support parents with learning difficulties to be ‘good enough’ parents.
Good practice: Midwives gain valuable insights. Zita Killick, Midwifery Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University, UK, introduces midwifery students to disability issues, helping them to understand the needs of parents with disabilities and special needs.
Resources: Who's carrying the baby? Chris Edwards, a disabled father from the UK, tested the wheelchair baby carrier for the Bath Institute of Medical Engineering. Chris talks about his experiences of using the baby carrier.
Resources: Innovative DVDs for deaf parents. A review of A guide to pregnancy and childbirth for Deaf parents, developed by DPPI, and Signing at the farm, a video for babies and children, from Sign and Bond.
Resources: Parent and child sign language. Zoe Robertson of Deaf Association of Northern Ireland describes the research behind the DVD, Signing family.
Resources: Positive images of disability. Barbara Kolucki describes a UNICEF project from Vietnam which resulted in the production, My wonderful mum, a picture featuring about disabled mothers.
Resources: Through the eyes of autism. Bonnie Auyeung, doctoral scientist, University of Cambridge, UK, reviews Expecting Teryk: an exceptional path to parenthood, by Dawn Prince-Hughes (2005).
Number 55 Autumn 2006
Viewpoint: Is breast best? Joanna Downes, a Deaf mother, describes her experience and expresses her views.
Parents experience: Challenging the ‘know-it-alls’. A parent, living in the UK with a kidney transplant, talks about the impossibility of getting information to make informed choices, and resisting pressures from the healthcare ‘know-it-alls’.
Parents experience: Setting standards and precedents. Isabella Devani (UK), a mother with multiple sclerosis, describes precedents and standards that are now being set for the care of physically disabled women following her experience of using maternity services in the region.
Good practice: Value of service user involvement. Deaf Parenting UK describes its new training opportunity for Deaf parents to become qualified trainers who can run its Deaf parenting skills courses. And we feature DPN's award-winning Disabled Parents Support Service, run by and for disabled parents.
Good practice: Upholding parents’ rights. Ella Callow JD is the Managing Attorney for the Legal Program and Custody Advisor for the National Resource Center for Parents with Disabilities at Through the Looking Glass, Berkeley, California, USA. Here she describes how she assists parents, advocates and professionals in the legal and social service systems when they are involved in custody litigation involving the child of a parent with a disability.
Resources: Visual impairment: new guides. Elena Piras, a visually impaired parent from Edinburgh and, Julie Brown, Midwifery Practice Leader for Parent Education, St Thomas’ Hospital, London review DPPI's Having a baby pack.
Research: Poverty and disability. Gabrielle Preston, Policy and Research Officer at the UK's Child Poverty Action Group, discusses the government's proposals on welfare reform and asks whether these really address the needs of disabled people with parenting responsibilities.
Number 56 Winter 2006/2
Viewpoint: Dual account of disabled parenting. A disabled mother and her two children (aged 10 and 12 years) talk about their personal experiences of living in a family with a disabled parent.
Parents experience: A pretty ordinary childhood. Etta and Fred Reid, who are both visually impaired, held down successful careers, had three children in quick succession, and raised them with hardly any outside help. Here, their daughter Julie Reid remembers her childhood.
Parents experience: East meets West. Chris McMillan, a visually impaired parent from Reading in the UK introduces her friend, Ye Zijie, a visually impaired father from China.
DPPI: excellence and imagination. Report on the Getting the Message Across award given to DPPI by the National Information Forum for new guides for Deaf and visually impaired parents.
Resource review: Hands-on parenting: a resource guide for parents who are blind or partially sighted by Debbie Bacon.
Resources review: Sexuality and fertility issues in health and disability: from early adolescence to adulthood, edited by Rachel Balen and Marilyn Crawshaw.reviewed by Lucia Winters, Development Officer at the Council for Disabled Children, UK.
Resource review: Defiant birth: women who resist medical eugenics by Melinda Tankard Reist (2006). Reviewed by Emma Bowler, disabled parent.
Resource review: Personal and family viewpoints. Alex James, whose mother has had multiple sclerosis (MS) throughout his life, reviews The young person's guide to MS: a book for young people who have a parent with MS by Kerry Mutch. John Harrison, a father who has Asperger Syndrome, reviews Living and loving with Asperger Syndrome: family viewpoints by Patrick, Estelle and Jared McCabe.
Research: Joined up support strategies. Independent writer, researcher and disabled parent Michele Wates, describes a project by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) in the UK, encouraging local authorities to develop protocols and joined-up systems which support disabled parents and their families.
Number 57 Spring 2007
Viewpoint: Transporting children to school: Not my problem, but whose is ite Parents have a legal obligation to get their children to school but what happens when events mean you need help to comply? A visually impaired parents looks at the lessons from her experience. Other visually impaired parents comment.
Parents experience: Accentuating the positive. Steve Pendleton (UK), a disabled father of three girls, concentrates on what he can do, rather than what he can’t do, in his parenting role.
Parents experience: Vocal cueing in disabled parenting. Sue Searle, a disabled mother (UK), describes how she developed vocal cues with her three children, and the potential these have for parents with limited mobility, strength or energy.
Parents experience: Coping with a ‘normal’ baby. Emma Bowler (UK) was born with a rare disability which her son inherited. She has recently had a second son, who does not have the condition. Emma explores the prospect of a family with two non-disabled and two disabled members.
Parents experience: Pregnancy and scoliosis. Shanta Everington, a first-time mother with idiopathic scoliosis, explores issues about pregnancy, childbirth and scoliosis.
Good practice: Pregnancy, scoliosis and anaesthesia. Anita Holdcroft, Reader in Anaesthesia and Honorary Consultant Anaesthetist at Imperial College London, and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, discusses the role of anaesthesia and pain relief in labour.
Childbirth, scoliosis and physiotherapy. Ann Mayne, Clinical Physiotherapy Specialist in Women's Health and Jill Mantle, Fellow of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, look at childbirth, scoliosis and physiotherapy.
Resources: Product research at the Baby Show. Disabled mother Sue Searle (UK), reports on new products on display at the Baby Show. Jo Allen (UK) tested one of these new products - the Podee bottle feeding system - with her baby daughter.
Number 58 - Summer 2007
Parents experience: Disabled parenthood: moving from England to Spain. Sarah Allen, a disabled mother living in Spain, talks about her experience of moving from England and compares cultural attitudes towards family life and disability.
Parents experience: Perfect role model. Sue Searle (UK) explores the emotional impact of parenthood in her family.
Parents experience: Finding the right school. Catherine Field, a Deaf-blind mother with Usher's Syndrome (UK), talked to Gill Lea-Wilson, Information Officer at DPPI, about the challenges and triumphs of trying to secure a good education for her two hearing daughters.
Resources: Guidance for midwives and nurses. Jackie Rotheram, disabled mother, midwife and founder of the first specialist midwifery service for disabled women (UK), calls for changes in attitudes towards woman-led service provision in nursing and midwifery. Zita Killick, Senior Lecturer in Midwifery at Anglia Ruskin University, UK, reviews the guidance launched at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Midwifery Society Congress in April 2007.
Resources: New school resources. We describe important changes for education and schools in the UK. We review new school guides for visually impaired and deaf parents and look at the new Disability Equality Duty, which is also summarised. We also introduce Kidz Aware, an innovative programme for schools, which focuses on disability equality awareness.
Resources: Kidz Aware: disability equality awareness. Gillian Archbold is a disabled parent of a disabled daughter, Sabrina. Gillian was already running general disability equality awareness training when she and Sabrina decided to set up the Kidz Aware programme in schools, which Gillian explains here. We also provide a short summary of the UK Disability Equality Duty.
Research: Barriers to motherhood. Hazel McFarlane, Research fellow, Strathclyde Centre for Disability Research, University of Glasgow, UK, summarises the findings of her PhD research about disabled women and barriers to motherhood.
Number 59 - Autumn 2007
Parents experience: Surviving separation. Lynne Hester from Cambridge, UK, is visually impaired. Here she writes about her experience of coming through a relationship breakdown as a disabled parent.
Parents experience: Successful wheelchair parenting. Isabella Devani, a wheelchair user (UK), discusses her experiences of bringing up her active toddler, and the creative methods she has used to bond with her son.
Parents experience: School transport obstacle course. Catherine Field, a Deaf-blind mother with Usher's Syndrome (UK), talks to Gill Lea-Wilson, Information Officer at DPPI, about the challenges she encountered in arranging school transport for her two hearing daughters and her campaign to beat the obstacle course.
Parents experience: Sign and bond. Yvonne Cobb (UK), talks about her experiences as a deaf mother of hearing children, discussing how they inspired her to set up her own business teaching baby sign language.
Good practice: Midwives’ insights revisited. Jane Martin and Julie Williams, practising midwives, describe the practical steps they have taken to ensure that services are accessible to visually impaired mothers-to-be.
Resources: Pathways to parenthood - a resource guide on parenting for people with disability in NSW by Kerri Thorne, Joanne Hutchins and Lois Gilmour. 2007. Reviewed by Joanne Watson (a speech pathologist with Scope and the sister of a disabled parent), and Sue Searle (UK) (a disabled parent and trainer)
Resources: Baby care assessment tool. Christi Tuleja, parenting equipment specialist and project manager at Through the Looking Glass, California, USA, talks about delivering training with a new baby care assessment tool developed for occupational therapists.
Number 60 - Winter 2007/2008
Parents experience: Fostering and donor conception. Chantelle Nasari, disabled mother (UK) who is a wheelchair user, describes her personal experience.
Parents experience: The bumpy road to parenthood. Sarah Allen (Spain), disabled mother with three children, discusses her experience of receiving fertility treatment and describes the discrimination she and her husband faced as a couple affected by disability.
Parents experience: Overcoming challenges. Christie Teki-Reu, a disabled mother (Australia), discusses how she overcomes the challenges of parenting as a wheelchair user with spina bifida and hydrocephalus.
Parents experience: Pregnancy, birth and ME. Heather Whalley, from Lancashire, UK, describes her experiences of pregnancy and birth, as a woman with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).
Good practice: Involving parents is key to success. A report on a new guide from Social Care Institute for Excellence, Adult services resource guide 9: working together to support disabled parents by Jenny Morris and Michele Wates. 2007.
Good practice: Occupational therapy guidelines. Darren Ayres, an occupational therapist (UK), discusses the role of occupational therapy in empowering disabled parents, and explains how his team developed a model to assess and then provide support to disabled parents.
Resources: Learning to live with Huntington's disease. Gerda Loosemore-Reppen, independent consultant, UK, reviews Learning to live with Huntington's disease: one family's story by Sandy Sulaiman. 2007
Resources: Deaf parenting website. Sabina Iqbal, Chair and Founder of Deaf Parenting UK, reports on the launch of its new website.
Number 61 - Spring 2008
Individual budgets pilot: Every Family Matters meeting. Julia talks about the individual budgets pilot programme.
Parents experience: Finding my way to fatherhood. Mohammed Rashid (UK), talks about his experiences of fatherhood and other people's attitudes to him as a blind parent.
Parents experience: Fatherhood and arthritis - a new sort of normal. Bryan Scatchard , a new father with rheumatoid arthritis, (UK), talks about the joys and challenges of parenthood.
Parents experience: Becoming an adoptive parent. Edris Miller (UK), describes her experience of adopting as a blind mother.
Good practice: Protocol for joined-up services. Joan Inglis, project manager for Support for Disabled Parents in Norfolk, UK, discusses the development and implementation of a joint protocol between children and adult social services departments.
Resource review: Disability in pregnancy and childbirth by Stella McKay-Moffat. 2007. Reviewed by Julie Brown, midwife.
Resources: Customised baby crib. Jason Carley, a disabled father (USA) reviews a crib from Fine Round Cribs, which can be customised with leg extensions to enable wheelchair access.
Number 62 - Summer 2008
Good practice: Disability and development. Gail Johnston from Action on Disability and Development (UK), describes how women disabled by attitudes in developing countries are fighting back and raising awareness of disabled parenting.
Parents experience: Disabled parenting: two perspectives. Chris and Sonya Grande (UK) offer a dual account of how they fought for Chris's rights as a disabled father, after he moved from the USA to the UK to be with Sonya and her four sons.
Good practice: Supporting parental mental health. Gary Hawker from Dorset Primary Care Trust (PCT), UK, discusses the challenges of developing a holistic service to support parental mental health and safeguard children, through the development of a joint protocol between children and mental health social services departments.
Resources: Accessible miscarriage resources. Trudi Collier, deaf mother, native BSL user, counselor and Vice Chair of Deaf Parenting UK, from Aberdeenshire, UK, reviews a leaflet for D/deaf women. Katie Rowan, independent consultant from London, UK, reviews a leaflet for women with learning difficulties.
Resources: Communicating in easy words and pictures. Fiona McDonald and Ruth Garbutt of CHANGE, a UK national organisation for people with learning disabilities, provide an update on its exciting work with parents, including the recent handbook You and your little child 1-5: a guide for parents in pictures and easy words. Nicky Genders, Principal Lecturer in Learning Disability Nursing at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, DeMontfort University, Leicester, UK, reviews the handbook.
Review: Parent assessment manual. Jill Toocaram, Common Foundation Programme Leader, Pre Registration Nursing, Anglia Ruskin University, UK, reviews Parent Assessment Manual 2.0, a software-based assessment tool for social workers, psychologists and other professionals working with parents with learning difficulties.
Review: Health handbook for disabled women. Sarah Allen, a disabled parent living in Catalonia, Spain, reviews A health handbook for women with disabilities by Jane Maxwell, Julia Watts Belser and Darlena David. 2007
Research: Disabled fathers - research agenda. Majella Kilkey, from the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Hull, UK, summarises a report publised by the university arising from a one-day workshop for and about disabled fathers.
Number 63 - Autumn 2008
Parents experience: Home to school travel. Lorraine Smith, a disabled parent from the UK, talks about the challenges she is facing in getting appropriate provision for transport to school for her children.
Parents experience: Fatherhood and sudden disability. Tim Rushby-Smith from (UK), describes his experience of sudden disability and the challenges of becoming a father just months later.
Parents experience: Fatherhood: adapting to disability. Nicholas Fincham (UK) describes his family's experiences and how he has adapted to disability.
Resources: Parental learning disability and children's needs. Sue McGaw, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and founder of the Special Parenting Service in Cornwall, UK, reviews Parental learning disability and children's needs, by Heady Cleaver and Don Nicholson. 2007
Resources: Reaching Out Project resource. Zita Killick, Senior Lecturer (Midwifery), Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, Essex, UK, reviews the Reaching Out Project resource from Medact.
Resources: Sex education and disability. Jane Fraser, a social worker and experienced sex education trainer with specialist knowledge in learning disability, from UK, discusses the history of sex education and the availability of suitable resources for disabled young people. She then reviews the Young disabled people can... poster and booklet set from Brook.
Resources: Looking up. Disabled father, Bryan Scatchard reviews Looking up: a humorous and unflinching account of learning to live again with sudden disability, by Tim Rushby-Smith. 2008
Resources: DVD review: Annie and Dan talk about MS. Alex James, whose mother has MS, reviews Annie and Dan talk about MS, a DVD produced by the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Research: Disability policy: help or hindrance? Claudia Malacrida a Canadian university-based researcher, talks about a study she carried out in Canada looking at the triumphs and challenges of disabled mothers.
Number 64 - Winter 2008/2009
Good practice: Campaign for normal birth. Bev Lynn, Practice Educator Midwife (UK) talks about the Royal College of Midwives’ campaign for normal birth.
Parents experience: Prenatal testing - yes or no? Rebecca Atkinson (UK), a mother with Usher syndrome, a rare genetic condition, explores the emotive issue of prenatal screening and why she chose not to test her unborn child for Down's syndrome.
Parents experience: Scoliosis, pregnancy and baby care. Sinead Murphy, a mother with scoliosis, from County Cork, Ireland, and co-founder of the Scoliosis Support Association of Ireland (SSAI) talks about the difference between her two pregnancies and how she wants to dispel myths about.
Good practice: Meeting cultural needs. A disabled Asian mother (UK), describes the lack of understanding she experienced from health professionals during her three pregnancies and why she would like to see culturally sensitive support available for all women.
Good practice: Influencing maternity services. Isabella Devani, a disabled mother (UK), describes the ways in which disabled parents in east Kent are changing NHS maternity services.
Resources: Parkinson's: books for children. Gill Lea-Wilson, whose mother had Parkinson's disease, and her children aged 10 and 13 years review a new set of books for children from the Parkinson's Disease Society
Resources: REMAP: customising equipment. Chris Gibson, project engineer and Betty Bateson, honorary secretary of the REMAP panel in Doncaster, outline the work of the UK charity. They also describe how the panel enabled a disabled mother to buckle her child's car seat with one hand.
Resources: Healthy births and epilepsy. Nicole Crosby-McKenna, development officer for women at Epilepsy Action, provides an update on the next stage of the Mothers in Mind campaign.
Number 65 - Spring 2009
Viewpoint: Fertilisation rights and wrongs. Tom Shakespeare, disabled parent, sociologist and bioethicist, discusses the ethical debate surrounding the 2008 UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act.
Parents experience: Fatherhood and schizophrenia. Russell Hine, (UK), talks about being diagnosed with schizophrenia after the birth of his son. He describes how his mental health affected his role as a father, and how he managed to create a new path and build a positive relationship with his son.
Parents experience: Fatherhood and Parkinson's Paul Martin, a father of two (UK), describes his emotional journey facing his diagnosis with Parkinson's as a father and shares a poem that he wrote after the birth of his second child.
Resources: Parenting teenagers. Shanta Everington, DPPI Deputy Editor, reviews two guides aimed at disabled parents of teenagers, and practitioners.
Resources: Assessing need in mental illness. Alyson Buck, Senior Lecturer in Mental Health at Anglia Ruskin University, UK, reviews Camberwell assessment of need for mothers: a needs-based assessment for pregnant women and mothers with severe mental illness by Louise Howard et al. 2008.
Research: Parental mental health. Kim Rutter, Marketing and Communications Manager at the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), UK, describes research commissioned by SCIE into the experiences of parents with mental health problems and their children, and how families can best be supported by services.
Research: Concepts of ‘normal’ and ‘natural’. Jackie Topp, a disabled mother, advocate and researcher from Northampton, UK, compares two case studies from her qualitative research with disabled women becoming mothers, exploring concepts of 'normalness' and 'naturalness'.
We publish a range of guides of interest to disabled parents, prospective parents, health and social work professionals and students (see order form).
Practical series includes practical tips and strategies and give details of useful childcare equipment and organisations.
Reference series includes reading lists, details of useful organisations and support groups.
Topic series contains details of useful organisations, resource material and equipment relating to parenting with a specific impairment or health condition.
Collated article series contains back articles from the DPPI journal on a particular subject.
National Centre publications include an information sheet on the needs assessment process.
Guides are available in a choice of formats. See publications list.