Children with Disabilities and their Effects on Divorce Rates

Meadowlands Assembly Hall, Dominican University of California

Children with disabilities such as down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, and ADHD all require special attention from parents. Previous research has shown that families who have special needs kids have an 80% risk for divorce, while other studies say these families have lower risk or no difference in divorce rates at all. I want to fill this contradictory research gap through a systematic review and in-depth interviews with professional health care workers to see how their experiences with special needs families compare to the literature.