Unshared Care : Parents and Their Disabled Children

Unshared Care (1983) examines families caring for disabled children in 1980s Britain. Through parent interviews, it reveals the extensive physical and emotional demands of care, feelings of isolation, and lack of support. The book exposes the gap between public rhetoric and reality: services were inadequate and poorly coordinated.

The vast majority of the 100,000 or so children with serious mental or physical disabilities in Britain in 1980s lived at home with their families. A series of in-depth interviews carried out with several parents enabled the author to describe the extensive physical, practical, and emotional demands made on those looking after their disabled child at home. In their own words, parents reported how and when they learnt about their child’s disability; the sheer physical work and mental effort of daily care which more often than not fell unremittingly on the child’s mother; the feelings of isolation and the lack of information which were often relieved only by talking with parents of other disabled children. First published in 1983, Unshared Care examines the community services, revealing that from the parents’ point of view, the rhetoric of public concern was only barely matched by the practical support available. It shows that services were, all too often, insufficiently specialized and lacking in coherence. Professional practices created further barriers to the receipt of help. As a result, parents felt that they and their children received far less help than they needed or deserved. This book will be of special interest to social workers, teachers, and medical and other professionals, as well as to the parents of children with disabilities.