ABSTRACT
The numbers of children with disabilities and of those family members caring for them are substantial. There are an estimated 150 million children with disabilities worldwide (United Nations Children's Fund, [UNICEF], 2006). Employed parents caring for children with disabilities often find the integration of work and family responsibilities very challenging (Kagan, Lewis, & Heaton, 1998; Matthews, Booth, Taylor, & Martin, 2011; Rosenzweig, Brennan, & Ogilvie, 2002). Community participation of children with disabilities is often limited by social and physical barriers, which in turn can result in their parents' exclusion from the workforce. For parents in advanced post-industrial societies, time spent arranging health care appointments, finding and maintaining inclusive child care arrangements, advocating for supports in educational settings, and dealing with health care crises are but a few of the exceptional care responsibilities faced in addition to typical family care responsibilities (Roundtree & Lynch, 2006). Exceptional carers, often the mothers of the children with disabilities (Lewis, Kagan, & Heaton, 2000a), may request flexibility in work arrangements and may need to take leave to care for their children in times of crisis.
