This book examines how and why mothers with disabled children became activists. Leading campaigns to close institutions and secure human rights, these women learned to mother as activists, struggling in their homes and communities against the debilitating and demoralizing effects of exclusion. Activist mothers recognized the importance of becoming advocates for change beyond their own families and contributed to building an organization to place their issues on a more public scale. In highlighting this under-examined movement, this book contributes to the scholarship on Disability Studies, Women's Students, Sociology, and Social Movement Studies.
Dr. Robert A. Naseef, a psychologist and father of a son with autism, details the daily blessings and challenges of raising a child with disabilities, offering sensitive, real-world advice along the way.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other national policies are designed to ensure the greatest possible inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of American life. But as a matter of national policy we still place the lion's share of responsibility for raising children with disabilities on their families. While this strategy largely works, sociologist Dennis Hogan maintains, the reality is that family financial security, the parents' relationship, and the needs of other children in the home all can be stretched to the limit. In Family Consequences of Children's Disabilities Hogan delves inside the experiences of these families and examines the financial and emotional costs of raising a child with a disability. The book examines the challenges families of children with disabilities encounter and how these challenges impact family life. The first comprehensive account of the families of children with disabilities, Family Consequences of Children's Disabilities employs data culled from seven national surveys and interviews with twenty-four mothers of children with disabilities, asking them questions about their family life, social supports, and how other children in the home were faring. Not surprisingly, Hogan finds that couples who are together when their child is born have a higher likelihood of divorcing than other parents do. The potential for financial insecurity contributes to this anxiety, especially as many parents must strike a careful balance between employment and caregiving. Mothers are less likely to have paid employment, and the financial burden on single parents can be devastating. One-third of children with disabilities live in single-parent households, and nearly 30 percent of families raising a child with a disability live in poverty. Because of the high levels of stress these families incur, support networks are crucial. Grandparents are often a source of support. Siblings can also assist with personal care and, consequently, tend to develop more helpful attitudes, be more inclusive of others, and be more tolerant. But these siblings are at risk for their own health problems: they are three times more likely to experience poor health than children in homes where there is no child with a disability. Yet this book also shows that raising a child with a disability includes unexpected rewards—the families tend to be closer, and they engage in more shared activities such as games, television, and meals. Family Consequences of Children's Disabilities offers access to a world many never see or prefer to ignore. The book provides vital information on effective treatment, rehabilitation, and enablement to medical professionals, educators, social workers, and lawmakers. This compelling book demonstrates that every mirror has two faces: raising a child with a disability can be difficult, but it can also offer expanded understanding. A Volume in the American Sociological Association's Rose Series in Sociology
James Charlton has produced a ringing indictment of disability oppression, which, he says, is rooted in degradation, dependency, and powerlessness and is experienced in some form by five hundred million persons throughout the world who have physical, sensory, cognitive, or developmental disabilities. Nothing About Us Without Us is the first book in the literature on disability to provide a theoretical overview of disability oppression that shows its similarities to, and differences from, racism, sexism, and colonialism. Charlton's analysis is illuminated by interviews he conducted over a ten-year period with disability rights activists throughout the Third World, Europe, and the United States. Charlton finds an antidote for dependency and powerlessness in the resistance to disability oppression that is emerging worldwide. His interviews contain striking stories of self-reliance and empowerment evoking the new consciousness of disability rights activists. As a latecomer among the world's liberation movements, the disability rights movement will gain visibility and momentum from Charlton's elucidation of its history and its political philosophy of self-determination, which is captured in the title of his book. Nothing About Us Without Us expresses the conviction of people with disabilities that they know what is best for them. Charlton's combination of personal involvement and theoretical awareness assures greater understanding of the disability rights movement.
Cultivate effective partnerships between parents and professionals through honest, respectful and skillful communication The authors draw upon the metaphor of "dance" to better understand the complexities and possibilities of forming partnerships between educators, administrators, early childhood providers, therapists, support staff, other professionals, and parents of children with disabilities. This revised edition of Do You Hear What I Hear? Parents and Professionals Working Together for Children With Special Needs is rich with stories, examples, and practical insights. This book, written from both the parent′s and the professional′s points of view, provides a developmental approach to understanding and forging positive adult relationships, while also providing concrete ways to advocate for children. The authors′ years of experience as successful consultants, trainers, and educators lends this helpful resource a deep sense of realism and compassion. They remind the reader of how essential the parent-professional partnership is—and why it IS a dance that matters. Key features include: Practical insights and evidence-based approaches to forming partnerships Easy-to-read, non-technical language that speaks to both the heart and the mind Sample letters and other forms of communication shared between professionals and parents Stories and examples of real-world conversations between parents and professionals Effective ways to handle difficult situations Rich with humor and heart, this highly readable book offers helpful steps for self reflection, personnel preparation, and parent-professional training. Educators and parents will find expert guidance for listening to each other′s music, trying out each other′s dance steps, and working toward a new dance that includes contributions from all—with the ultimate reward of seeing children achieve their highest potential.
2021 Schneider Family Book Award Young Children's Honor Book (American Library Association) Experience the true story of lifelong activist Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins and her participation in the Capitol Crawl in this inspiring autobiographical picture book. This beautifully illustrated story includes a foreword from Jennifer and backmatter detailing her life and the history of the disability rights movement. This is the story of a little girl who just wanted to go, even when others tried to stop her. Jennifer Keelan was determined to make a change—even if she was just a kid. She never thought her wheelchair could slow her down, but the way the world around her was built made it hard to do even simple things. Like going to school, or eating lunch in the cafeteria. Jennifer knew that everyone deserves a voice! Then the Americans with Disabilities Act, a law that would make public spaces much more accessible to people with disabilities, was proposed to Congress. And to make sure it passed, Jennifer went to the steps of the Capitol building in Washington DC to convince them. And, without her wheelchair, she climbed. ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP! A Rise: A Feminist Book Project Nominee A Junior Library Guild Selection All the Way to the Top is perfect for: Elementary school teachers looking for books to supplement disability rights curriculum and the history of the ADA (find a free Common-Core Aligned Educator Guide at www.sourcebooks.com) Parents looking for social justice picture books, books on activism and for young activists, and inspiring books for girls Parents, teachers, librarians, and guardians looking for beautifully illustrated, inspirational and educational books for young readers in their life
The Disabled Woman's Guide to Pregnancy and Birth was a finalist for a 2005 Foreward Magazine Best Book of the Year Award and a 2006 Ben Franklin Award! This comprehensive and useful guide is based on the experiences of ninety women with disabilities who chose to have children. In order to bring an intimate focus and understanding to the issues involved in being pregnant and disabled, author Judith Rodgers conducted in-depth interviews with women with 22 different types of disabilities and with a total of 143 pregnancies. Thoroughly researched and informative, this book is a practical guide both for disabled women planning for pregnancy and the health professionals who work with them. The Disabled Woman's Guide to Pregnancy and Birth supports the right of all women to choose motherhood, and will be useful for any disabled woman who desires to have a child. The subjects covered include: an introduction to the ninety women and their specific disabilities the decision to have a baby parenting with a disability emotional concerns of the mother, family and friends nutrition and exercise in pregnancy a look at each trimester labor and delivery caesarean delivery the postpartum period and breast-feeding. A list of references and a glossary will assist the reader in obtaining additional information and understanding medical terminology. Empathetic, balanced, comprehensive, and practical, this guide provides all the facts needed by disabled women and their families. It stresses the importance of informed communication among the pregnant woman, her family members, and health care professionals. It is the only book that answers critical questions and provides guidance for the woman with a disability facing one of the biggest challenges of her life.
The reasons behind the increase in autism diagnoses have become hotly contested in the media as well as within the medical, scholarly, and autistic communities. Jordynn Jack suggests the proliferating number of discussions point to autism as a rhetorical phenomenon that engenders attempts to persuade through arguments, appeals to emotions, and representational strategies. In Autism and Gender: From Refrigerator Mothers to Computer Geeks, Jack focuses on the ways gender influences popular discussion and understanding of autism's causes and effects. She identifies gendered theories like the “refrigerator mother” theory, for example, which blames emotionally distant mothers for autism, and the “extreme male brain” theory, which links autism to the modes of systematic thinking found in male computer geeks. Jack's analysis reveals how people employ such highly gendered theories to craft rhetorical narratives around stock characters--fix-it dads, heroic mother warriors rescuing children from autism--that advocate for ends beyond the story itself while also allowing the storyteller to gain authority, understand the disorder, and take part in debates. Autism and Gender reveals the ways we build narratives around controversial topics while offering new insights into the ways rhetorical inquiry can and does contribute to conversations about gender and disability.
This collection of 18 scholarly works and personal accounts from Canada, the U.S., and Australia explores and analyzes issues of parenting by mothers with a variety of physical and mental disabilities. The book delves into pregnancy, birth, adoption, child custody, discrimination, and disability politics. Noticing dominant ideas, meanings, and narratives about mothering and disability, as the contributors of this book do, exposes how the actual lives and experiences of mothers with disabilities are key to challenging cultural norms and therefore discrimination.
In this user-friendly book, parents learn revolutionary common sense techniques for raising successful children with disabilities. When we recognize that disability is a natural part of the human experience, new attitudes lead to new actions for successful lives at home, in school and in communities. When parents replace today's conventional wisdom with the common sense values and creative thinking detailed in this book, all children with disabilities (regardless of age or type of disability) can live the life of their dreams. Readers will learn how to define a child by his or her assets - instead of a disability-related "problem," and how to create new and improved partnerships with educators, health care professionals, family and friends
