Mother of a Person: Identity Narratives of Parents of Children with Disabilities

• In Event: 110 - Regular Session. Performing Parenthood in Social Context

Abstract

As a socially significant event, motherhood can influence not only the way that a woman is perceived by others, but also how she perceives herself. Women who experience motherhood are not immune to the already available cultural expectations regarding what it means to not only be a mother, but to be a good mother. When a child is born with a disability, the experience of parenting can deviate from those cultural expectations. Previous works have highlighted the added hardships (financial, social and emotional) experienced by parents of children with disabilities. This paper presents a narrative analysis of the accounts of parenthood identity from mothers of children with disabilities.

Author

• Ahoo Tabatabai, Columbia College