CILT’s Parenting with a Disability Network (PDN) was created in 1997 as a response to an increased demand for information and resources relating to parenting with a disability. This increase followed the creation of the Direct Funding program that, from the beginning, included [link https://cilt.ca/programs-and-services/parenting-with-a-disability-network/nurturing-assistance/ ] Nurturing Assistance, funding for parents to receive attendant support for parenting tasks.
The PDN found that parents with disabilities may have common concerns but because of a lack of resources specifically for disabled parents, individuals have had to find, create or fight for needed services without the benefit of knowing what other parents have already accomplished. The PDN began to address this by providing opportunities for parents and prospective parents to share information and have opportunities for peer support. CILT also dedicated a staff position to coordinating resources, programs and events for parents and prospective parents.
In 1999 CILT published the first edition of The Parenting Book for Persons With a Disability: from planning your family to raising adolescents made possible through a grant from the United Way of Greater Toronto. This book included an extensive review of resources, which served to be tremendously useful for people with disabilities contemplating pregnancy, prenatal, post-natal and parenting choices as well as for service providers. This book included a cross-section of services in the Greater Toronto Area, as well as general information and advice found in various publications. It also included personal accounts about individual’s experiences as parents with disabilities and how they went about finding resources, strategies and securing needed services.
The second edition of the The Parenting Book for Persons With a Disability was released in 2011 with updated resources.
You can order a copy of the second edition of this book here https://cilt.ca/cilt-resources/cilt-publications/
For information on what the PDN is currently up to visit https://cilt.ca/programs-and-services/parenting-with-a-disability-network/
For an up-to-date list of resources for parents and prospective parents with disabilities visit our resource page here https://cilt.ca/programs-and-services/parenting-with-a-disability-network/parenting-resources/
