Mothering Speical Needs: A Different Maternal Journey
This book explores the lived experience of mothers raising a child with a learning disability, through interviews with mothers of children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Down syndrome. With frequent personal accounts from mothers themselves, Mothering Special Needs encourages other women who have children with special needs to recognize and express their own aspirations and needs for self-fulfilment. It addresses the social...
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This book explores the lived experience of mothers raising a child with a learning disability, through interviews with mothers of children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Down syndrome. With frequent personal accounts from mothers themselves, Mothering Special Needs encourages other women who have children with special needs to recognize and express their own aspirations and needs for self-fulfilment. It addresses the social construction of motherhood, discussing issues such as mother-blame and society's images of the self-sacrificing mother, in the context of raising a child with a learning disability. It also looks at real-life experiences of working with professionals, giving examples of both good and bad practice. This is an invaluable book for mothers as well as for professionals working with families that include children with disabilities.About the Author:Anna Karin Kingston is currently a member of the MA in Women's Studies' teaching board, University College Cork
Foreword 9Prologue 11Introduction 15Why mothers? 16Gendered care work 17Mothers as subjects 18Feminist ethnography 20Outline of chapters 22The Challenge of Maternal Voices 25Mothering with a difference 27The challenge of maternal voices: the Irish context 30'Mother power': the rise of the disability movement 331980s: new efforts based on old thinking? 34Marie O'Donoghue 35Kathy Sinnott 37Disability Bill: published and withdrawn 38The hypocrisy of the Special Olympics 39Ireland in the international context 40Rights-based legislation: Sweden one step ahead 42The Disability Act 2005: another fundamental flaw? 45Conclusion 46Maternal Coping 49Knowing from the beginning: Down syndrome 50Early years worries: moderate to severe learning disabilities 54After years of searching: the relief of a diagnosis 56Intelligent but socially excluded: children with Asperger syndrome 62Maternal stress and severe learning disability: always at a toddler stage 66Mothers' different ways of coping 69Professionals: helpful or adding to the stress? 74Conclusion 84Maternal Work and Employment 87Staying at home: a positive choice 87Work outside the home: a needed income 92Maternal work: becoming a full-time teacher 96Maternal work: extraordinary support 102Fighting for services: another full-time job 104Extended care in the wider community 109Mothering special needs: a never ending job? 111Conclusion 116Mothers' Relationships with Fathers, Families and Social Networks 121The father: the second carer 121Gendered ways of thinking 127Family life: a struggle 133Avoiding the gaze of the public 136Keeping a distance: extended families 138The notion of the 'good' mother 140Catholic values and children with special needs 145The choices of having more children: amniocentesis and abortion 151Conclusion 156A Different Maternal Journey - Conclusion 161Life goes on: but with a difference 161The 'war' with professionals: becoming resilient agents 163Extraordinary mothering: an alternative resilience? 164Sharing the care with the mother 167The social construction of motherhood 169Reconstructing maternal subjectivities 171The ambivalence of mothering 174Conclusion 176Epilogue 179Profile of Participants 181Useful Contacts 183Books by Mothers of Children with Special Needs 187References 189Subject Index 199Author Index 205
