ENABLEMENT FEATURE organisations have the means and opportunity to be involved in solving their own problems .
Enabling is the basis of occupational therapy ’ s client centred practice and a foundation for client empowerment and justice .
In recent years , there has been a drive to fund studies and create services within the NHS to provide specific services that seek to hear the voice of disabled mothers in relation to their pregnancy , birth experiences and the ways and means they will adopt to care for their children after birth . This has led to collaborative working between obstetrics , occupational therapy and midwifery .
A recent DRILL ( Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning ) press release announced a research project carried out at the University of Bedfordshire about disabled parents in 2019 ( https :// bit . ly / 3mKWbQJ ).
The research team were shocked to find that many disabled parents were ‘ often too scared ’ to ask for help from social services for fear of being judged unfit to look after their children .
They identified that greater collaboration between adult and children ’ s services was essential to ensure disabled parents could access the vital help they needed to fulfil their parenting role and keep their families together .
With this in mind , Enabled2Parent has deliberately chosen to position itself within the charitable sector . This is to provide disabled parents with a place , a voice and a space to belong and receive tailored assessments , advice , information , advocacy and support within an atmosphere of empathy , encouragement and hope .
The charity aims to achieve this by building a bridge between a disabled person ’ s human right to be a parent and rear their own children and the reality of becoming and being a resilient and independent parent with the right personalised support . Other ways we hope to support people include :
• providing an email facility to refer , chat and offer advice ;
• providing an assessment about the impact of a disability on their parenting role , their needs and help map out the journey from pregnancy onwards ;
• helping to identify and trial any equipment they might need to care for their baby or child ;
• supporting them in their transition into their role as a new mother or father ; and
• supporting them in their liaison with adult and children ’ s services . Enabled2Parent also seeks to work with professionals in health and social care , the third sector , as well as agencies and organisations who link with the baby and parenting industry . This is achieved through a number of things , including the commitment to working with professionals to enable disabled parents to look forward to the birth of their child with hope and excitement .
Also , providing the relevant assessments , reports and risk assessments that relate to the functional and adaptive aspects of baby care and parenting , and supporting clients and families to understand the roles of different services and organisations involved with the family and helping them form meaningful and positive relationships with their children .
The charity also provides education and training courses and service development workshops about adaptive parenting that are tailor made to suit a service , organisation or business , and forms partnerships with existing services to provide a needs led , co-ordinated and prompt response to parents with additional support needs .
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The research team were shocked to find that many disabled parents were ‘ often too scared ’ to ask for help from social services for fear of being judged unfit to look after their children .
The charity provides long and short-term support to clients and conducts the majority of its assessments online , while both parents or professionals can make a referral or request information . With a growing community of disabled parents on its Facebook page and a growing peer support network for both mothers and fathers , the charity ’ s peer support is open to perspective clients regardless of whether they need a full occupational therapy assessment or not . It is provided by two disabled parents who are part of the charity ’ s leadership team . This is because Enabled2Parent recognises it is important to understand , support and address the unique challenges of parenting with physical disability and other complex conditions ( Wint et al 2016 ) and to endorse the fact that having and raising children is highly valuable for many people with or without disabilities ( Cureton 2016 ).
References
Curton A ( 2016 ) Parents with disabilities . The Oxford Handbook of Reproductive Ethics . Oxford Handbooks Online . Available at : www . oxfordhandbooks . com [ accessed 20 October 2021 ] Townsend E ( 2002 ) Enabling occupation : An occupational therapy perspective . Canadian Occupational Therapy Association . Canada Wint AJ , Smith DL and Lezzoni I ( 2016 ) Mothers with physical disability : childcare adaptations at home . American Journal of Occupational Therapy , 70 ( 6 ): 1-7
Sarah Fay , occupational therapist and founder of Enabled2Parent . For more information email : info @ enabled2parent . org
OTnews November 2021 35