Disabled parents often encounter problems when trying to access mainstream services because of a lack of joined-up working between children and adult social services, according to the National Family and Parenting Institute.
The institute's head of research Clem Henricson said many disabled parents faced barriers in carrying out parts of their parental role, from feeding their baby to attending school parents' evenings.
"Adequate and appropriate packages of support are needed, and while many local authorities are beginning to recognise the parenting responsibilities of disabled parents, there is still much to be done," said Henricson.
She added that the barriers, which included the absence of parenting responsibilities in community care assessment and eligibility criteria, could be tackled by flexible and imaginative thinking on the part of planners and frontline staff.
The NFPI is calling on disabled parents with one or more children aged under 18 to contact them about what kind of support they would find helpful in making parenting easier.
Fo more information go to www.e-parents.org
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