Caring for Sick or Disabled Children: Parents' experiences of combining work and care was commissioned by Carers UK and Contact a Family.
Researchers at Sheffield Hallam University followed the experiences of parents of sick or disabled children and gathered a statistical analysis on parent carers from the 2001 national census.
Sociologist and co-author of the report Professor Sue Yeandle said, 'We're crying out for there to be better out-of-school and holiday services.
There's been so much put into provision for children, but that hasn't really been extended to disabled children.
'I think if we recognise that we shouldn't discriminate against people with disability, we need to provide the same services and opportunities for all.
It's really an equality agenda.'
The report highlights the importance for parents of disabled children of flexible working arrangements and having an understanding employer. Working also brings them social and psychological benefits from having another role besides being a carer.
Professor Yeandle said, 'One of the things people talked about was the constant juggling they had to do. Small things like being able to leave work a bit earlier than everybody else can make a huge difference to the life of a parent caring for a disabled child.'
One parent in the study, who returned to part-time employment, said, 'Although there is more provision, there's still not enough, and it's still not a service specially designed for working parents of SEN children. I feel very aggrieved by that. There's all this emphasis on getting people back to work, subsidised nursery places, after-school clubs and breakfast clubs. But our children can't access them.'
The report is available at the websites www.carersuk.org or www.cafamily.org.uk.
