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More About Through the Looking Glass

People often ask about the name of our organization: Through the Looking Glass. The connotation of our name is that disability experience does not have to be just negative or traumatic. Like Alice's Through the Looking Glass experience, disability brings new perspectives that can engender creativity and new meanings -- even playfulness and humor! The reflection of the looking glass also points to the profound role people who have been through this process can play for one another.

At Through the Looking Glass, we emphasize a life cycle approach which integrates perspectives gained from personal and family disability experience. The dialogue between nonpeers, people with disabilities, parents of children with disabilities, siblings, spouses and adult children of parents with disabilities or deaf parents is sometimes hard and always fertile. TLG is a celebration of diverse perspectives and a demonstration that these perspectives can be bridged and that bridging them can produce particularly effective, empathetic and respectful family intervention as well as innovative approaches to research and training.

TLG's staff includes psychologists, researchers, occupational therapists, rehabilitation counselors, social workers, marriage, child and family therapists, developmental specialists, and childbirth educators. The staff have diverse cultural backgrounds, and nearly 80% of the 30 staff members are disabled, parents of disabled children, or members of families with disabilities. Staff List

TLG actively seeks to hire and promote individuals, recruit volunteers and provide services to individuals without regard to race, creed, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, national origin or age. In addition, with strong historical and community ties to the disability community, we are firmly committed to providing equal access to all people. Utilizing media and collaborative networks, we conduct ongoing outreach to sources of underrepresented individuals for all employment, research and services opportunities. Individuals with personal disability experience are inherent to the planning and implementation of all our projects. TLG was founded by, is directed by and staffed primarily by professionals with personal disability experience, either themselves or within their families. Our current Board of Directors similarly represents diverse professional and disability communities.

Many popular and professional articles have been written about TLG and its work with families with disabilities. Some of the most recent online articles can be found at: Online Articles about TLG and its work with Families with Disabilities.

TLG staff includes nationally-recognized experts in their fields. Staff also continue to receive distinguished awards from such organizations as the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation and Zero to Three.

More questions? Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page.

TLG's Programs and Services

National Center for Parents with Disabilities and their Families. The National Center at Through the Looking Glass focuses on the nearly 9 million U.S. parents with diverse disabilities and their families. Originally established in 1998 as the first National Resource Center for Parents with Disabilities, in 2008 TLG was awarded a three year grant by NIDRR, U.S. Department of Education to continue our national work with parents with disabilities and their families as the National Center for Parents with Disabilities and their Families. The National Center is currently conducting several national research studies that focus on four critical areas that impact parents with disabilities: custody, family roles and personal assistance; paratransit; and, national and regional demographics. The Center is also developing innovative projects concerning adaptive babycare equipment, school curricula and intervention strategies for parents with cognitive and intellectual disabilities. The National Center also provides technical assistance, publications, and trainings concerning parenting with a disability including:

National Toll-free Information and Referral
Individualized Consultations to Parents, Family Members, and Professionals
Professional Trainings, Workshops, and Presentations
National Library and Resources Clearinghouse
Regional and Statewide Systems Development
Publications and Training Modules
Parent-to-Parent Network of Parents with Disabilities
Website including free downloadable publications

BAY AREA SERVICES

We provide comprehensive services to parenting families with diverse disabilities and medical issues.

Home-based parent/child intervention, family support, and parenting education for families with disabilities in parent or infant/child
Home-based infant mental health services when parent or infant has a disability
Infant/Toddler developmental evaluation and early intervention
Adaptive baby care equipment evaluation and provision for parents, expectant parents or parenting grandparents with physical disabilities
Home-based early intervention and family support services for Deaf parents and their hearing babies
Childbirth and parenting education for expectant parents with cognitive disability
Support group for parents with cognitive disabilities
Support group for parents with physical or visual disabilities
Support groups for parents of disabled babies or children
Play therapy for children with disabilities and children of parents with disabilities
Parenting evaluations for child protective services-involved parents with disabilities

RESEARCH

We have conducted numerous research projects of national significance concerning families with disabilities since 1982, and all our research is conducted from a non-pathological and disability community perspective.
Our current national research projects are:

An Analysis of Evaluations of Child Protection System-Involved Parents with Cognitive Disabilities
Occupational Therapy Evaluation & Training Module to Guide Practice with Parents with Physical Disabilities.

Previous TLG research projects have included:

Parents with Disabilities and their Teenage Children A national survey of parents with disabilities, research on adaptive babycare equipment, specific studies of deaf parents, mothers with visual disabilities, parents with developmental disabilities, pregnancy and birthing issues, access to Head Start, and federal and state policies affecting parents with disabilities. Several publications are available regarding TLG's research studies and findings.

Employment Opportunities at TLG