Mother and Soldier: Raising a Child with a Disability in a Low-income Military Family

This study of six low-income service member mothers sought to identify the impact of personal characteristics and external support systems on their ability to continue in the military while caring for a child with a disability. The interviews revealed the military mothers’ personal strengths, barriers confronted, coping strategies, and the impact of caring for the child on their personal and professional lives. Despite reported determination to meet their children’s needs and positive views of their children’s growth and development, a majority of the participants eventually left their military careers, citing reasons such as the strain of assuming primary parenting responsibilities and a lack of support by military family services.