Download Disabled Father`s Network Conference

Disabled Fathers: Identifying Research, Policy and Practice Agendas
Workshop
University of Hull, 22nd February 2007
BreakAway Group Feedback
Group 1
Facilitated by Simon Unsworth
A number of points were made around the way in which assumptions are
made when considering disabled fathers and their families:

Is “carer” or “young carer” automatically a negative position? “Caring”
can be a positive thing if supported properly. However,
organisations/individuals need to be clear that they should never
impose or enforce the label ‘carer’ on someone.

“Disability” does not mean that everything is negative – disabled
fathers can provide as much stability, support, learning and
participating environments, etc, for their children, they may simply
have to do things in different ways from their able-bodied counterparts

Work needs to be carried out with professionals to see what
assumptions they are making about disabled fathers and how these
assumptions are affecting their working methods/attitudes/decisions,
etc. These assumptions should then be challenged through
professional education and undergraduate training courses.

There needs to be a clear understanding that “disabled” does not
necessarily mean “service user” – if research concentrates on “service
users”, a large number of disabled people’s opinions and knowledge
will be missed. For disabled fathers, being a ‘service user’ may be seen
as a weakness, and they may therefore end up not admitting to a
disability (because of the implied assumption that they are also a
service user) or not asking for help (i.e. becoming a service user) in
case they are seen as less masculine or capable

“Parenting” does not necessarily equal “mothering”

Just because a disabled person is employed, it does not mean that
they do not require help.
Disabled fathers can and will have a range of positive impacts on their
children’s lives, including:

Children of disabled fathers may learn earlier about things like
responsibility, interdependence, etc
The following were identified as areas that require further work/research:

More understanding about what’s important to disabled fathers and
their families.

Ways need to be identified and put into practice of engaging with
disabled fathers at every stage of setting the research agenda, carrying
out the research, assessing the result and drawing conclusions, etc.

Further work needs to be carried out to identify the factors that are
involved in negotiating childcare within dual parenting relationships,
and where ‘disability/impairment’ fits in this i.e. do disabled fathers
consider their position weakened or otherwise altered because of their
disability.
The following points were made regarding research methodology:

The research needs to ensure that disabled fathers undertaking all
fathering roles are included, not just the traditional ones of biological
and/or social. This may include foster fathers, adoptive fathers, stepfathers, etc.

Men, and especially disabled fathers themselves, need to be central in
the research as researchers/interviewers as well as participants.
Disabled fathers participating in research should be given a choice of
who they speak to when being interviewed to ensure they are as
comfortable as possible and therefore more prepared to speak honestly
and openly.
Some general points were made around areas that require improvement
and/or development:

More information aimed at fathers is required at all stages of contact
with health/social care organisations, for example, information at first
contact may be around the effect of a particular condition on a man’s
ability to become a father or the effects on his ability to parent. This
information should be up to date, available in a range of appropriate
formats and revisited at various points with the father to ensure that
he has what he needs.

Cultural representations of disabled fathers need to be challenged as
they are currently rare and then overwhelmingly negative.

Disability should be taught within all undergraduate and professional
training course, and the focus of this should be to emphasis the
equality and diversity aspects of impairment rather than simply the
negative/biological aspects (i.e. not simply treated as an abnormality).

Companies should ensure that their employment policies are ‘joined-up’
– currently, disabled fathers may be wary of accessing a firm’s
Disability support policy as well as its fatherhood policy for fear of
being seen as difficult or unable to satisfactorily do the job.