Info Sheet 23: Challenges faced by Black mothers of children with developmental disabilities

Abstract

Caring for children with developmental disabilities (DDs) can be challenging for a number of reasons, including social stigma, financial burdens, insufficient funding and programming, social isolation and limited social support from families and from communities as a whole. However, the challenges of raising children with DDs are even greater and complex if the families are from a racialized background.

Racialized mothers experience even greater stress. The stress of caring for a child with DDs is amplified as a result of racism, prejudice, stigma, and discrimination experienced by racialized families. We learned from our studies that racialized youth with DDs face barriers in key aspects of their lives, including health, mental health, education, work, and challenges of integration and community participation (Khan et al., 2025; Khanlou et al., 2024). Racialized families’ distress is rooted in historic inequities they experience in healthcare, income, housing, education and social challenges, racism, and discrimination. For example, in Canada, Black families report experiencing higher rates of unemployment and income inequality, compared with the national average (Graham, 2025). They experience discrimination in employment, housing, education, and food insecurity (Graham, 2025).