Developmental Disabilities

Despite the progress that has been made on behalf of people with developmental disabilities and their families, there is still a significant negative financial impact for the majority of families that have a child with a developmental disability. Family Voices, a grassroots parent advocacy organization, recently documented the impact on families' financial wellbeing. Care of a child at home in the current environment of piecemeal funding and lack of qualified personnel means that, in many cases, in two parent families one parent cannot join the workforce, or family members who do work must work reduced hours due to lack of other providers, or working family members must stay below a certain income so as to not risk losing benefits.

In sum, all the factors that influence any couple's adjustment to and commitment to a marriage can be expected to play a role in the adjustment of a couple and family to the diagnosis of a child with a disability (Farber 1960; Robinson, Rosenberg, and Beckman 1988; Wikler 1986).