Contact a Family, a charity for families with disabled children, asked members of 615 families about their experiences of living in the UK, and what they thought made them stronger practically, socially and emotionally.
Its report, What Makes My Family Stronger, said that vital support services such as short breaks, a key worker and childcare are unavailable to almost half of families.
It said that 46 per cent of families with disabled children are unable to access childcare, which costs up to five times more for disabled children than others.
Parents responding to the survey blamed rising costs and unreliability for leaving them with little choice about childcare options.
Sixty per cent of the families felt that they are not listened to by professionals.
Srabani Sen, chief executive of Contact a Family, said, 'It is shocking that in the UK today, attitudes towards disabled children, from professionals and members of the public, are among the barriers preventing families from leading ordinary lives.
'Professionals need to recognise each child's capabilities rather than seeing only disability.'
Almost 70 per cent of the families surveyed said that understanding and acceptance of disability from their community or society is poor or unsatisfactory,and six out of ten families claimed that society does not value them as carers.
The charity is now calling for a Government campaign to raise awareness of the needs of families with disabled children, with disability awareness being taught in early years settings and schools throughout the UK.
Children with a range of physical, learning, behavioural, sensory and communication needs or complex health needs were defined as disabled in the survey.
Steve Alexander, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said, 'This research gives real cause for concern in the light of the sizeable raft of legislation, policy and funding which has been introduced in the past ten years aimed at supporting disabled children.'
He added, 'The suggestion that more than 60 per cent of families don't feel listened to by professionals is also worrying, because of the introduction of high-profile initiatives such as the Early Support programme, aimed at improving partnerships with parents of disabled children. However, this programme is in its infancy, and only time will tell if it starts to make a difference and delivers significant outcomes for families and children.'