Abstract:

This article presents the results of a study of six low-income women, each of whom is raising a child with a suspected or diagnosed disability while also serving as an active member of the armed forces. Their experiences as they attempt to strike a balance between the highly demanding work role of the military and their role as a mother of a child with disabilities are examined. This article aslo discusses the personal strengths these women display, the barriers they confront, the strategies they use to negotiate competing demands, and the impact of this efort on their personal and professional lives. Practice and policy implications are drawn for early intervention and family support programs.

*In the first analysis, social support emerged as a theme. In the second analysis, spirituality emerged as a subset of social support.

Author(s): Nancy E. Taylor, Shavaun M. Wall, Harriet Liebow, Christine A. Sabatino, Elizabeth M. Timberlake, Michaela Z. Farber

Journal: Exceptional Children

Date: 2005

Volume: 72

Issue: 1

Pages: 83-99

DOI: 10.1177/001440290507200105

Databased: Yes

Disabilities: Developmental Disability, Emotional/Behavioral Disorders, Medical/Health Disabilities, Physical Disabilities, Speech/Language Impairments

Categories: Families