Individual advocates and long-established organizations have worked for decades to assure that there is professional help and formal support for parents of babies and toddlers who have been diagnosed with a developmental delay, physical disability, chronic illness or other condition.

It is widely understood that any baby's first year starts with the steepest learning curve for parents that is possible. When an infant is diagnosed with a condition that may result in the child being partially disabled, family stress increases due to the uncertainty and inexperience of the whole community with ordinary adults with the same diagnosis. Of course, some stress results from people who assume they know something about one child based on anyone else they have met who has a disability.

So, we already have a blueprint for nurturing parents of babies with disabilities. The foundation is the same: share the joy; ease the workload; be generous with affection and admiration. It may be more difficult to protect the tender-hearted from those who might take advantage of their vulnerability. It is a fine balance to raise awareness of disability issues in the birth to three population while raising funds using images and stories from parents whose children deserve both privacy and respect. Advocacy organizations and early intervention strategies must include culturally competent and racially inclusive planning and leadership.

No individual or caregiver should live in poverty or be pushed out of neighborhoods or schools through lack of political will to address those issues. There should also be complete follow-through by those organizations who expend energy and finances to protect the rights of the unborn so that acknowledgement, encouragement and practical support is available to every child, teen or adult with a disability in the community.

For more information on this topic, browse at your public library, local bookstore or online retailer for books like: Developing Cross-Cultural Competence: A Guide for Working with Children and Their Families, Fourth Edition (Developing Cross-Cultural Competence (Lynch)) or Early Intervention Practices Around the World (International Issues in Early Intervention) (ISEI)

Center for Parent Information and Resources
Babies and Toddlers
https://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/babies/

Providing Early Intervention Services in Natural Environments
https://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/naturalenvironments/
Individual advocates and long-established organizations have worked for decades to assure that there is professional help and formal support for parents of babies and toddlers who have been diagnosed with a developmental delay, physical disability, chronic illness or other condition.

Research on newborns and young babies favors 'attachment parenting' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2PfSaHwSco&feature=share

Media Manufactures Stories; Stories of Struggle are Real
https://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/12/17/poverty-porn-manufactured-stories-struggle-are-real-152760