Nurturing the Strengths of Children and Families with Disabilities

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the latest data from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System reveal that over 70 million adults in the U.S. reported having a disability in 2022. And more than 14.5 million children living in the U.S. have special health care needs, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health.

Through the Looking Glass (TLG) was founded over 40 years ago to serve families with disabilities throughout parenting, to provide respectful and empowering services for children and families so there would be fewer barriers in their lives.

Staffed by psychologists, occupational therapists, social workers, child/family therapists, and developmental specialists, TLG specializes in home-based developmental and mental health services for families and their young children when a parent or child has physical, medical, or developmental difficulties or disabilities. They also provide support groups to parents or parenting grandparents.

Founder and Executive Director Megan Kirshbaum and her husband, Dr. Hal, who had MS, learned firsthand about the lack of focus on the multiple barriers facing parents with disabilities in the U.S. They also quickly realized the benefit of early preventive intervention for children with disabilities when their second child was born with medical issues. The Kirshbaums founded TLG in their converted garage in Berkeley in 1982 to help other families overcome some of the barriers they had faced. 

What sets TLG’s intervention model apart is its unique blending of infant, child/parent, and family therapy with early developmental intervention and practical disability resources. This nurtures family relationships and helps prevent unnecessary child delays. 

What also sets the nonprofit apart is its free adaptive parenting equipment. TLG is nationally recognized for its OTs designing, fabricating, and providing baby care equipment for parents and other caregivers with disabilities. These include modified cribs and walkers with baby seats designed to allow adults with disabilities to have an easier time doing typical parenting tasks. The parenting adaptations can sometimes even be the difference between a parent with disabilities keeping custody of their child. TLG sees approximately 300 Alameda and Contra Costa County families with disabilities annually. They primarily serve low-income children and families of color, with diverse cultural backgrounds and languages.  

For families like Zoha Raad’s, Through the Looking Glass was a life-saver after she acquired a disability. To help her deal with the day-to-day physical challenges of raising a baby, TLG developed adaptive parenting solutions for her.

“I was introduced to skilled occupational therapists who offered adaptive baby care training, enabling me to care for my child despite my limited mobility,” Raad says.

Raad went on to become Chair of TLG’s Policy Council, which is a group of parents participating in and helping govern their Early Head Start Program (which provides both center and home-based services for pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and their families).  TLG’s daycare center also facilitated her pursuit of education at the University of California, Berkeley. Raad is now an independent living skills specialist serving other people with disabilities. 

“TLG is like my second family, and I hold them dear in my heart,”
Raad says.