The following is a sampling of books by families with disabilities. They include memoirs, autobiographies, and collections of stories by parents with disabilities or those serving in the parent role. Stories share pregnancy and/or parenting journeys. Children of parents with disabilities also offer their stories of growing up with a parent with a disability.
The Disabled Women’s Guide to Pregnancy and Birth (2005)
Book by an occupational therapist/adaptive parenting and pregnancy specialist who founded the program at TLG. Includes information from extensive interviews with 90 women with disabilities. Author: Judith Rogers
Amazon.com listing (external link)
Maternity Rolls: Pregnancy, Childbirth and Disability (2010)
A book by a mother who is paraplegic discussing her own childbirth experience as well as other stories of pregnancy and disability. Author: Heather Kuttai
Amazon.com listing (external link)
Past Due: A Story of Disability, Pregnancy and Birth (1993)
A memoir by a mother with post-polio describing the birth of her first child and reproductive rights for people with disabilities. Author: Anne Finger
Amazon.com listing (external link)
From Here to Maternity: Pregnancy and Motherhood on the Autism Spectrum (2015)
A book by and for mothers with autism, discusses pregnancy, childbirth and parenting. Author: Lana Grant
Amazon.com listing (external link)
We’ve Got This: Essays by Disabled Parents (2023)
Anthology of essays and stories from parents with disabilities. Editor: Eliza Hull
Amazon.com listing (external link)
A Celebration of Family: Stories of Parents with Disabilities (2021)
Collection of autobiographical stories of thirty families where one or both parents have disabilities: physical, mental, sensory, and/or intellectual. Author, Editor: Dave Matheis
Amazon.com listing (external link)
Mom on Wheels: The Power of Purpose for a Parent with Paraplegia (2022)
Memoir from a clinical psychologist and disability activist who became paraplegic when her child was a toddler. Author: Marjorie Aunos
Amazon.com listing (external link)
Mom Dad Not Hear: 30 Powerful Stories and Lessons about Leadership, Life, and Love from My Deaf Parents (2024)
Book by a child of deaf adults about his experience with his deaf parents. Author: Mickey Carolan
Amazon.com listing (external link)
The Sound of Her Voice: My Blind Parents’ Story (2022)
A memoir from the child of blind parents about her parents’ lives. Author: Mary Pieroni Harper
Amazon.com listing (external link)
As I Saw It: A Sighted Daughter’s Memoir of Growing Up With Blind Parents (2016)
A book by the child of blind parents about her life growing up with them. Author: Laura Schriner
Amazon.com listing (external link)
Sitting Pretty: The View from my Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body (2020)
Memoir in essays by disability advocate. Author was not a parent when writing the book, but discusses many issues relevant to pregnancy and parenting for individuals with disabilities. Author: Rebekah Taussig
Amazon.com listing (external link)
Parenting with Paralysis (2021)
Booklet published by the Christopher & Dana Reeves Foundation. Provides an overview, advice, and brief parent stories from pregnancy through grandparenting.
Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation publication (external link)
Parenting Young Kids When You Have Arthritis: 24 Tips to Make the Day-to-Day a Little Easier (2019)
Online article with real-world suggestions from parents with arthritis.
Creakyjoints.org website (external link)
For Disabled Dads, There’s Just More to Parenthood (2022)
Article about fathering with a disability.
Verywellmind.com website (external link)
Quad moms: Portraits of mothers with disabilities
CBS News article with portraits of mothers with quadriplegia.
CBSnews.com website (external link)
Disability Horizons Magazine
Online disability lifestyle publication with a number of articles on parenting.
Disabilityhorizons.com website (external link)
Parenting Done Differently: Parents with Disabilities
Podcast series from the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare at the University of Minnesota exploring how parenting can be done differently and how professionals can best support parents with disabilities. Hosted by Marjorie Aunos a psychologist, author, and parent with disabilities.
University of Minnesota website (external link)
Amplifying Voices: Parents with Disabilities
Recording of Speaker Slam event featuring 10 parents with disabilities.
Youtube.com video (external link)
Shepherd Center: Video Resources for Women with Spinal Cord Injury
Videos on a variety of topics, including pregnancy and parenting, featuring women with spinal cord injuries.