Feeling Like You're Looking For Something That Doesn't Exist: Experiences Of Securing Accessible Housing Among Families Of Children And Youth With Disabilities

Disabil Rehabil. 2026 Aug 5:1-18. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2026.2712594. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Accessible housing plays a crucial role in enabling independent living, yet many children and youth with disabilities and their families struggle to live in secure, high-quality, and accessible homes. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of securing or maintaining accessible housing among families with children with disabilities and young adults with disabilities.

METHODS: Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 participants (18 parents or guardians of 23 children with disabilities (mean age 11.5), and 7 young adults with disabilities (mean age 26.3). Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.

RESULTS: Our analysis generated two overarching themes that capture 1) how participants experienced a persistent misalignment between their housing needs and available options (i.e., inaccessible layouts and designs, crowded living environments, unsafe and unsupportive neighborhoods, managing stigma and surveillance), and 2) the broader structural constraints shaping their housing trajectories (i.e., limited availability of suitable housing, barriers to making or obtaining home modifications, complex and fragmented housing navigation systems, affordability pressure, discrimination, intersectional barriers).

CONCLUSION: Findings underscore the urgent need to expand the supply of accessible, inclusive housing for people with disabilities, and to improve processes to secure accessible housing.

PMID:42554253 | DOI:10.1080/09638288.2026.2712594