Repositioning mothers: mothers, disabled children and disability studies

TLDR

Mothers of disabled children occupy a liminal position, often not disabled yet experiencing disablism, with distinct experiences and undervalued activist roles. The article reviews how mothers of disabled children are portrayed in disability studies and broader academic literature. The authors conduct a literature review of disability studies and related scholarship. The review concludes that further research is needed to explore how these mothers negotiate daily life within oppressive mothering ideologies and disabling environments.

Abstract

In this article we set out to review the ways in which mothers of disabled children have been portrayed within disability studies and the more broader academic literature. We argue that within disability studies mothers of disabled children occupy a liminal position because they are often not disabled and yet they can experience forms of disablism. Their experiences can differ markedly from the experiences of mothers of non‐disabled children and yet the consequences and outcomes of these experiences, such as developing a 'special competence' is largely overlooked. Mothers can work to effect change on behalf of their children and, in some cases, for disabled people more generally, however, this role of activist mother is largely undervalued. The review of literature presented here leads us to conclude that further research needs to be undertaken exploring and highlighting the ways in which mothers of disabled children negotiate, manage and approach their daily lives, operating within what are described by feminist scholars as oppressive mothering ideologies and disabling environments.