ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to identify the counselling and support needs of families with disabilities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and to investigate the effects of several variables upon these needs: 143 parents or significant others responded to the Scale of the Counselling Needs for Families of Handicapped Children (SCN‐FHC). Outcomes of the study revealed that families with disabled children in UAE have several counselling needs in the following domains consecutively: information, rehabilitation, psychological, services, support and social needs. Also there is no significant difference between parents’ scores as classified according to their residential area, their previous experience with social workers, number of handicapped within family and their level of education. However, the results showed a significant difference between parents’ counselling needs as classified according to their job, and type and degree of their child's disability.