The amount of support and the degree of satisfaction with available support to rural and metropolitan parents of handicapped preschoolers was studied by analyzing parents' responses to mailed questionnaires assessing family background and demographic characteristics and the mothers' perceptions of the availability and quality of support systems in their communities and school systems. Respondents were 50 urban and 30 rural Texas mothers of handicapped preschoolers. Responses about amount and quality of support fell into nine categories: amount of professional support, quality of medical support, satisfaction with professional support, number of people available for informal support, quality of informal support, satisfaction with informal support, parenting and lifestyle satisfaction, involvement in community groups, and satisfaction with community involvement. Comparison of rural and urban responses showed a slightly smaller amount of professional and informal support available to rural parents, but rural parents were more satisfied with available support than were metropolitan parents. The two areas with significant difference were quality of medical support and lifestyle/parenting satisfaction, with rural parents giving higher ratings in both areas. These results raise the possibility of overall satisfaction with rural life overriding limited outside support. (JHZ)