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 dialog between non-peers, 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.