Parents with physical disabilities and their parenting experiences: a scoping review of qualitative studies

Parents with physical disabilities experience social marginalization, reflecting pervasive ableism and stigma. It is critical to understand their experiences related to parenting to develop targeted and supportive programs. The primary objective was to examine the extent of existing knowledge on parental experiences of physically disabled parents by conducting a scoping review of peer-reviewed qualitative studies.

Studies were included if they reported qualitative data on the parenting experiences of parents with physical disabilities and were published between 1990 and 2024. Medline, Cinahl, PsychInfo, and Scopus were used. A standardized data extraction form was developed and tested prior to data extraction.

25 publications (23 studies) met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. These studies reflected the experiences of parents with diverse physical disabilities. Studies highlighted numerous aspects of parents' experiences, including 1) Navigating a multitude of barriers and challenges; 2) Parent experiences with other family members (excluding their children): supportive and challenging; 3) Diverse parent experiences with non-family support persons; and 4) Adaptation, resilience, and positivity in disabled parenting.

Parents described adaptation and resilience in response to pervasive challenges. Rehabilitation programs that serve disabled parents should leverage the strengths and assets of the persons served.