Impact of being a Disabled Parent

This paper begins by exploring the changing horizons in disability law and child rights internationally as well as nationally. However, the main goal of this paper is to explore the impact of being raised by a disabled parent. It not only highlights the similarities but the lack of differences in the parenting method. Despite having the same legal rights as any other parent, parents with disabilities are often discriminated against when it comes to family law issues. Various case laws have established that you must prove one parent is ‘unfit’ before terminating custody or visitation rights, but in reality, parents with disabilities are often treated unfairly in family courts. For the purposes of the qualitative research, I have interviewed 14 students currently pursuing graduation or post-graduation courses in University of Delhi. They are of the age group between 18 to 24 years. 7 of them have been brought up by at least one disabled parent. They have a good understanding of the impact it has had on them. Most of them have personally experienced discrimination and oppression at the hands of the family members or state authority. 7 of them have been brought up non disabled parents. Using their opinions and experiences, I have highlighted various lacunae present in implementation of rights of disabled parents and also provided some solutions as to overcome those.