Some Statistics:
The Wall Street Journal reported in November 2008 on recent research suggesting that divorce rates of couples raising a child with a disabil-ity are even higher than the national average. Some nonprofit organizations have reported divorce rates as high as 75 to 85 percent for this popula-tion.
Other reports have claimed these percentages are overestimated. Indeed, a recent study by Vanderbilt Univer-sity’s Kennedy Center actually found divorce rates of parents who have a child with Down Syndrome to be 33 percent lower than in marriages where the parents do not have a child with a disability.
2008 study by the University of Buffalo cited by The Wall Street Journal which reported that parents of a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactiv-ity Disorder are nearly twice as likely to divorce before the child reaches 8 years old as a couple with a child with-out a disability
This article investigates the stress of cost of a child with a disability after parent's divorce:
http://www.sirote.com/tyfoon/site/members/D/3/F/2/4/E/1/E/8/B/file/Kathy%20Barr/TheCounselor_Spring%2010_KBarr.pdf
These statistics on divorce are not of any surprise for me. I do feel as if divorce has become very common within today's society. By the statistics you have provided, one can see that this topic of discussion can be very controversial. Is having a child with a disability a cause to divorce? The statistic from Vanderbilt University states otherwise, finding the divorce rates of parents who have a child with down syndrome to be 33% lower. These are very interesting statistics that provide inquiry, how do you feel about divorce? What are causes to divorce? How do you think divorce effects a child with a disability?
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