{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T04:28:44Z","timestamp":1787027324845,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,11]],"date-time":"2024-01-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1704931200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Sociol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>This \u2018perspective\u2019 article is an urgent call to action on behalf of mothers (and indeed fathers) of disabled children in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so draws attention to the \u2018perfect storm\u2019 experienced by United Kingdom-based parents of reduced support and increased stress, coupled with the effects of isolation. It also illuminates some of the impact of actions taken, and not taken, during and after the pandemic and the enduring effects for working parent-carers. In doing so I argue that, despite facing these extreme challenges, these parents have been a neglected group from both a policy and research perspective. The call to action therefore extends to society, employers, and to the research community.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fsoc.2023.1304676","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,11]],"date-time":"2024-01-11T00:20:30Z","timestamp":1704932430000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Who cares about the carers? A call to action on behalf of mothers of disabled children"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"8","author":[{"given":"Alison","family":"Pearson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1923","DOI":"10.1007\/s12144-021-01516-x","article-title":"Mental health during COVID-19 lockdown in India: role of psychological capital and internal locus of control","volume":"42","author":"Alat","year":"2023","journal-title":"Curr. Psychol."},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"105","DOI":"10.3109\/13668250.2022.2096956","article-title":"Challenges of online learning for children with special educational needs and disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review","volume":"48","author":"Bakaniene","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Intellect. Develop. Disabil."},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e000981","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjpo-2020-000981","article-title":"Impact of lockdown and school closure on children in special schools: a single-Centre survey","volume":"5","author":"Banerjee","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMJ Paediatr. Open"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/s40814-021-00881-5","article-title":"Healthy parent Carers: feasibility randomised controlled trial of a peer-led group-based health promotion intervention for parent carers of disabled children","volume":"7","author":"Bjornstad","year":"2021","journal-title":"Pilot Feasib. Stud."},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"607","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-economics-051520-030252","article-title":"Inequality and the COVID-19 crisis in the United Kingdom","volume":"14","author":"Blundell","year":"2022","journal-title":"Annu. Rev. Econ."},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"26","DOI":"10.1177\/1358229118820742","article-title":"Unconscious bias and the medical model: how the social model may hold the key to transformative thinking about disability discrimination","volume":"19","author":"Bunbury","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. J. Discrim. Law"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"398","DOI":"10.1177\/1078390314561326","article-title":"Families with special needs children: family health, functioning, and care burden","volume":"20","author":"Caicedo","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Am. Psychiatr. Nurses Assoc."},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1111\/gwao.12506","article-title":"COVID-19 and the gender gap in work hours","volume":"28","author":"Collins","year":"2021","journal-title":"Gend. Work. Organ."},{"key":"ref9","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref10","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"103790","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ridd.2020.103790","article-title":"Impact of COVID-19 outbreak on mental health and perceived strain among caregivers tending children with special needs","volume":"107","author":"Dhiman","year":"2020","journal-title":"Res. Dev. Disabil."},{"key":"ref12","year":"2019"},{"key":"ref13","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref14","year":""},{"key":"ref15","year":""},{"key":"ref16","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"234","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2214.2008.00922.x","article-title":"\u2018Jumping through hoops\u2019: parents' experiences with seeking respite care for children with special needs","volume":"35","author":"Doig","year":"2009","journal-title":"Child Care Health Dev."},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"237","DOI":"10.1080\/09687590220139838","article-title":"Disadvantage and discrimination compounded: the experience of Pakistani and Bangladeshi parents of disabled children in the UK","volume":"17","author":"Fazil","year":"2002","journal-title":"Disab. Soc."},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1590\/s0004-2803.202000000-02","article-title":"Quality of life in caregivers of pediatric patients with cerebral palsy and gastrostomy tube feeding","volume":"57","author":"Figueiredo","year":"2020","journal-title":"Arq. Gastroenterol."},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"44","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ridd.2016.03.006","article-title":"Subjective happiness among mothers of children with disabilities: the role of stress, attachment, guilt and social support","volume":"55","author":"Findler","year":"2016","journal-title":"Res. Dev. Disabil."},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1129","DOI":"10.1093\/jpepsy\/jsn040","article-title":"Predictors of psychological morbidity in parents of children with intellectual disabilities","volume":"33","author":"Gallagher","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Pediatr. Psychol."},{"key":"ref22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"822","DOI":"10.1111\/jar.13098","article-title":"\u2018Different things at different times\u2019: wellbeing strategies and processes identified by parents of children who have an intellectual disability or who are autistic, or both","volume":"36","author":"Griffin","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Appl. Res. Intellect. Disabil."},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"396","DOI":"10.1002\/smi.2969","article-title":"Managing stress during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and beyond: reappraisal and mindset approaches","volume":"36","author":"Hagger","year":"2020","journal-title":"Stress. Health"},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"637","DOI":"10.1108\/JAOC-08-2020-0099","article-title":"Structural inequalities exposed by COVID-19 in the UK: the need for an accounting for care","volume":"16","author":"Haynes","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Account. Organ. Chang."},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"580","DOI":"10.1177\/1476718X221098666","article-title":"Parents\u2019 experiences of home-schooling amid COVID-19 school closures, in London, England","volume":"20","author":"Khan","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Early Child. Res."},{"key":"ref26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101444","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jwb.2023.101444","article-title":"Global employees and exogenous shocks: considering positive psychological capital as a personal resource in international human resource management","volume":"58","author":"Kraus","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. World Bus."},{"key":"ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"53","DOI":"10.1037\/0021-9010.90.1.53","article-title":"Psychological and physical well-being during unemployment: a meta-analytic study","volume":"90","author":"McKee-Ryan","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Appl. Psychol."},{"key":"ref28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"885","DOI":"10.1111\/dmcn.15503","article-title":"Impacts of health care service changes implemented due to COVID-19 on children and young people with long-term disability: a mapping review","volume":"65","author":"Merrick","year":"2023","journal-title":"Dev. Med. Child Neurol."},{"key":"ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"331","DOI":"10.1177\/1039856215618523","article-title":"The mental health benefits of employment: results of a systematic meta-review","volume":"24","author":"Modini","year":"2016","journal-title":"Australas. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref30","author":"Morton-Young","year":"2021"},{"key":"ref9001","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"936","DOI":"10.1080\/08856257.2021.1967297","article-title":"Parental involvement during COVID-19: Experiences from the special school","volume":"37","author":"O\u2019Connor Bones","year":"2022","journal-title":"Eur. J. Spec. Needs Educ."},{"key":"ref31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"A42","DOI":"10.1136\/archdischild-2023-rcpch.69","article-title":"Suicidal ideation in parents caring for disabled children","volume":"108","author":"O\u2019Dwyer","year":"2023","journal-title":"Arch. Dis. Child."},{"key":"ref32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"229","DOI":"10.1108\/TLDR-09-2020-0025","article-title":"Experiences of children with special educational needs and disabilities and their families in the United Kingdom during the coronavirus pandemic","volume":"25","author":"O\u2019Hagan","year":"2020","journal-title":"Tizard Learn. Disab. Rev."},{"key":"ref33","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref34","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref35","first-page":"7","article-title":"\u201cTrying to function in the Unfunctionable\u201d: mothers and COVID-19","volume":"11","author":"O\u2019Reilly","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Mother. Initiat. Res. Commun. Involv."},{"key":"ref36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2027","DOI":"10.1038\/s41591-022-02028-2","article-title":"How COVID-19 shaped mental health: from infection to pandemic effects","volume":"28","author":"Penninx","year":"2022","journal-title":"Nat. Med."},{"key":"ref37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"515","DOI":"10.1111\/gwao.12614","article-title":"A gendered pandemic: childcare, homeschooling, and parents' employment during COVID-19","volume":"28","author":"Petts","year":"2021","journal-title":"Gend. Work. Organ."},{"key":"ref38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"277","DOI":"10.2307\/j.ctv1h45mcj.25","article-title":"\u201cYour \u2018only\u2019 is my everything\u201d: mothering children with disabilities through COVID-19","volume-title":"Mothers, Mothering, and COVID-19: Dispatches from the Pandemic","author":"Pozniak","year":"2021"},{"key":"ref39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"585","DOI":"10.1111\/bioe.12507","article-title":"The value of work: addressing the future of work through the lens of solidarity","volume":"32","author":"Prainsack","year":"2018","journal-title":"Bioethics"},{"key":"ref40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.17645\/si.v11i1.5721","article-title":"Disabled people\u2019s experiences of the coronavirus pandemic: a call to action for social change","volume":"11","author":"Read","year":"2023","journal-title":"Soc. Inclus."},{"key":"ref41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"818","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1741-3737.2003.00818.x","article-title":"Family life with children with disabilities: the key role of rehabilitation","volume":"65","author":"Rogers","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Marriage Fam."},{"key":"ref42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"103","DOI":"10.1111\/spol.12758","article-title":"Disabled people in Britain and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"56","author":"Shakespeare","year":"2022","journal-title":"Soc. Policy Adm."},{"key":"ref43","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref44","year":""},{"key":"ref45","year":""},{"key":"ref46","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref47","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e049386","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2021-049386","article-title":"\u2018We have been in lockdown since he was born\u2019: a mixed methods exploration of the experiences of families caring for children with intellectual disability during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK","volume":"11","author":"Wolstencroft","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"key":"ref48","year":"2015"},{"key":"ref49","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref50","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1007\/s00127-009-0044-2","article-title":"The mental health benefits of work: do they apply to poor single mothers?","volume":"45","author":"Zabkiewicz","year":"2010","journal-title":"Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr. Epidemiol."},{"key":"ref51","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"11","DOI":"10.1007\/s11150-020-09534-7","article-title":"Gender differences in couples\u2019 division of childcare, work and mental health during COVID-19","volume":"19","author":"Zamarro","year":"2021","journal-title":"Rev. Econ. Househ."},{"key":"ref52","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100583","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rssm.2021.100583","article-title":"Work less, help out more? The persistence of gender inequality in housework and childcare during UK COVID-19","volume":"73","author":"Zamberlan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Res. Soc. Stratific. Mobil."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Sociology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fsoc.2023.1304676\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,11]],"date-time":"2024-01-11T00:20:36Z","timestamp":1704932436000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fsoc.2023.1304676\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,11]]},"references-count":53,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fsoc.2023.1304676"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fsoc.2023.1304676","relation":{},"ISSN":["2297-7775"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2297-7775","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,11]]},"article-number":"1304676"}}