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Families' care work during the transition from school to post-school for children with severe disabilities
Suellen MurrayAbstract
Family members provide the vast majority of care for young people with disabilities. This article considers the care provided by parents during a child's transition from school, based on in-depth interviews with mothers of eight young women aged 16-24 years, with severe or profound disabilities, from regional areas of Tasmania and suburban areas of Victoria. The mothers describe their efforts to find suitable day programs and the changes in government health and financial services offered once the child is considered to be of adult age. Unlike non-disabled young people leaving school, severely disabled young people and their families do not experience a transition as such, but rather a continuation of care and dependence.
Family members provide the vast majority of care for young people with disabilities. This article considers the care provided by parents during a child's transition from school, based on in-depth interviews with mothers of eight young women aged 16-24 years, with severe or profound disabilities, from regional areas of Tasmania and suburban areas of Victoria. The mothers describe their efforts to find suitable day programs and the changes in government health and financial services offered once the child is considered to be of adult age. Unlike non-disabled young people leaving school, severely disabled young people and their families do not experience a transition as such, but rather a continuation of care and dependence.
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In this issue
Features
- Families caring: Diverse care work of families in Australia
- The Families Caring for a Person with a Disability Study and the social lives of carers
- Crisis or commotion? An objective look at evidence on caregiving in families
- Families' care work during the transition from school to post-school for children with severe disabilities
- Caring for carers: The financial strain of caring
- Disability and family carers
- How four year-olds spend their day: Insights into the caring contexts of young children
- The importance of caring for children in Australian society
- It's about time: Key findings from the women, men, work and family project
- Caring about sexual assault: The effects of sexual assault on families, and the effects on victim/survivors of family responses to sexual assault
- "Basically it's a recognition issue": Validating foster parent identities
- Grandparents raising grandchildren because of alcohol and other drug issues
- Grandparent-headed families in Australia
- That elusive but essential element beyond sound legislation, policy and theoretical perspectives