ABSTRACT
Families with disabled children in the UK experience many interlocking facets of disadvantage and discrimination (Ahmad 2000a). This has contributed to the development of the concept that it is the family as a whole that is disabled by the unjust society in which it fi nds itself. Parents and siblings, like disabled children, are also subject to stigma, marginalisation and discrimination. Within this experience, two key dimensions are central. First, disabled families in general face greater chances of (long-term) material deprivation than families without a disabled child. Second, against that problematic background, they commonly experience a variety of obstacles in accessing the range of information and services which it is known would have a positive impact on their lives (Beresford et al. 1996). In combination,
as Ahmad (2000b) rightly argues, such disabling conditions constitute barriers to disabled people exercising their rights and responsibilities as citizens.
