Creating Supportive Connections: A Decade of Research on Support for Families of Children with Disabilities

Abstract

Raising a child with disabilities involves balancing a number of challenges, including seeking and gaining support. A synthesis of past research on support for families is needed to map directions for future research. This article reviews the past 10 years of empirical research on formal and informal support for families of children with disabilities. The review includes quantitative and qualitative studies representing several disciplines. Nine focus areas are identified: well-being, resources and socioeconomic factors, culture and minorities, intervention, extended families, siblings, professional support relationships, religion, and policy. Research is synthesized within each of the focus areas and suggestions are provided for future communication research. Dominant theories in existing studies are reviewed with directions for future theory-driven communication research.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

An earlier version of this article was presented at the 2006 annual convention of the National Communication Association, San Antonio, Texas.

Notes

¹Due to space considerations, general information about study methods and samples is provided in the Appendix. Surveys were used for 52 studies, qualitative methods were used for 33 studies, and 18 studies used both quantitative and qualitative methods. Additional information about study participants is included within the text where appropriate.