“It feels like you’re an after thought or you weren’t thought about at all.”

In addition to custody concerns, disabled parents also face access barriers in society as a whole. School events, transportation, stores and community centers often aren’t accessible to people with disabilities. Issues include events without an American Sign Language interpreter, movies that don’t offer closed captioning, sidewalks without curb cuts, public transportation without wheelchair lifts or elevators and restaurants and facilities with stairs instead of ramps, among many others.

Advocacy groups and resources that can help lighten the load

• Parental Rights Foundation: Educates the public on and advocates for the rights of families and parents.
• Dreamscape Foundation: Aims to make schools, workplaces and the community more accessible and highlights resources that can help people live and work more independently.
• Through the Looking Glass: Identifies research and resources for families in which a parent, a child or another family member lives with a disability.