About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

46 J. Soc. & Soc. Welfare 159 (2019)
It's like I Have an Advantage in All This: Experiences of Advocacy by Parents of Children with Disabilities from Professional Backgrounds

handle is hein.journals/jrlsasw46 and id is 505 raw text is: 




  It's Like I Have an Advantage in All This:
    Experiences of Advocacy by Parents of
         Children with Disabilities from
             Professional Backgrounds


                        Sarah Taylor
              California State University-East Bay

                   Amy Conley Wright
                      University of Sydney

                      Holly Pothier
                        Chellsee Hill
                   Meredith Rosenberg
              California State University-East Bay



Supports and services for children with disabilities are not distributed
equitably. There are disparities in access to and quality of services for
children with disabilities from low-income and ethnic minority groups.
There are likely many contributors to these disparities, but one factor
may be barriers to access that require parents to advocate to obtain ser-
vices for their children. This qualitative study explores advocacy expe-
riences of parents of children with disabilities (n = 40) who have a high
level of education and/or professional achievement. Parents described
relying heavily on their professional and educational backgrounds in
advocacy, and some commented upon the advantage they had in ac-
cessing services. In the context of an international shift in develop-
mental services policy towards self-determination and privatization,
parents and guardians will play an even larger role in decision-making
about services with their dependents with disabilities. The findings of
this study suggest that support and training for parents and guardians


Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare • September 2019 • Volume XLVI • Number 3

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most