Supporting Parents with Disability: A Conversation with Dr Namira Williams from DMC Support
At Careseekers, we love to spotlight organisations making a real difference in the lives of people with disability. Recently, we spoke with Dr Namira Williams, founder of DMC Support and disAbility Maternity Care, about her inspiring journey and the unique supports her team provides.
The Story Behind DMC Support
Namira’s work began with personal experience. Watching two women in her family, both living with cognitive impairments go through pregnancy with very different outcomes, was life-changing. One was able to bring her baby home. The other wasn’t.
This experience, combined with her PhD research into maternity care for women with intellectual disability, revealed a stark reality: health professionals often lacked the knowledge and communication skills to properly support women with disability during pregnancy and parenting.
To address this gap, Namira founded disAbility Maternity Care in 2020 to train health and disability providers. Soon after, she established DMC Support as a registered NDIS provider in 2021, putting “boots on the ground” to deliver direct supports to people with disability.
Today, DMC Support provides support coordination and support services across Australia, focusing on young adults exploring safe relationships, expectant parents, and new parents navigating the challenges of early parenting.
The Challenges Parents with Disability Face
According to Namira, one of the greatest barriers is stigma. Too often, people with disability who announce a pregnancy are met with disbelief or even suggestions of termination, rather than joy.
“There’s still a lot of ableist attitudes,” Namira explains. “Parents with disability are often expected to prove they can manage everything alone, without the ‘village’ that all parents need.”
This stigma can show up in families, communities, and health systems, creating additional hurdles for parents who are already doing one of life’s hardest jobs.
The Role of Support Workers
Support workers play a crucial role in breaking down these barriers. For parents with disability, a worker’s presence can:
Reduce anxiety at appointments: Attending antenatal check-ups or hospital visits with a support worker helps participants feel more comfortable and confident in unfamiliar or intimidating environments.
Build parenting skills: Workers must walk alongside parents by coaching and not taking over. It is important for workers to help the new parents develop confidence in caring for their baby.
Provide advocacy: Workers can help participants prepare for medical appointments, know when to step in, and when to step back so that parents’ voices remain central.
Respect dignity of risk: Just like anyone else, people with disability have the right to make choices others may see as risky. Support workers can help balance safety with autonomy.
“It’s really important that support workers walk beside parents, not in front of them,” Namira says. “Parenting is always their role first.”
Regional and Rural Challenges
DMC Support works with families across Australia, including regional and rural areas where specialist services may be limited. Namira encourages families to:
Use telehealth to connect with specialists.
Seek additional training for local support workers, helping them adapt to the unique needs of parents with disability.
Engage disability advocacy organisations when systems like health, child protection, or the NDIS aren’t responsive.
Everyday Actions to Reduce Stigma
Namira highlights a few practical steps support workers can take:
Be aware of your own biases - and check them.
Walk beside, not ahead - support parents to build skills rather than taking over.
Prepare parents for appointments - explain what to expect and why certain (sometimes very personal) questions will be asked.
Respect disclosure choices - discuss with participants whether and how they want to share information about their disability.
Examples of Great Outcomes
Namira shares that DMC Support has worked with mothers at risk of having their babies removed by child protection. With intensive supports in place, many of these mothers have been able to keep their babies at home, sometimes breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma.
“It’s an example of best practice,” she says. “When the right supports are in place, families thrive, and children stay with their parents where they belong.”
Building a More Inclusive Future
At the heart of DMC Support’s philosophy are two simple but powerful beliefs:
People with disability have the right to relationships and to become parents if they choose.
Parenting is a learned skill - for everyone.
By centering these principles, Namira and her team are working to create a more inclusive, supportive system where parents with disability are valued, respected, and given the same opportunities as anyone else.
About DMC Support
Founded in 2021, DMC Support provides NDIS-funded support coordination and support services for people with disability navigating relationships, pregnancy, and parenting. For those not eligible for the NDIS, DMC Support also helps families access alternative supports and resources.
Learn more at disAbility Maternity Care or by connecting with the DMC Support team.
To make a referral, please visit https://www.careseekers.com.au/referrals
To find disability support services, please visit www.careseekers.com.au/services/disability-support-workers
To find aged care services, please visit www.careseekers.com.au/services/aged-care-workers
To become a care or support worker, please visit www.careseekers.com.au/carer
