Support Networks and the Road Ahead for Children and Young People with Functional Variation

In this project, we study access to services for families where one or more of the children has a diagnosis that may trigger a need for adaptation or other assistance measures.

We have a particular focus on who gains access to different support services, how children fare through their schooling and the transition to adult life, and parents' employment.

This project is built on the research project Socio-spatial Inequality among Families with Children with Disabilities who are Entitled to Cash Benefits and Welfare Services (UPTAKE) financed by The Research Council of Norway. 

The purpose of UPTAKE was to provide greater insight into the ways in which socioeconomic status, diagnosis, immigrant background, and their geographical location affect the access to and use of relevant benefits and services among families with children with disabilities. 

In 2023, nearly 3,700 families responded to an anonymous survey on access to various support services, adaptation in kindergarten and school, and parents' own employment. The survey was sent to families with children with a diagnosis of ADHD, cerebral palsy, or Down syndrome. Those who responded to the survey consented to Statistics Norway (SSB) linking register data following the survey.

Study developments in outcomes

As this project continues, SSB will link register data every four years until 2035. This will allow us to examine developments in outcomes related to schooling and employment, as well as how these outcomes vary with characteristics of the child and family, and the follow-up and adaptation provided to the family. 

Examples of questions we can study include:

• How are the children doing with regard to schooling?
• How do transitions to education and working life unfold?
• How are pupils who received special education provision faring compared with those who did not?
• And what about children who attended a regular class at their local school: do they succeed better than those who attended special classes or special schools?
• What happens to parents' labor market participation?