"My son is autistic": normality and different maternities. an anthropological approach to the social dimensions of autism

Abstract

This article presents an anthropological approach to the experiences of mothers of people with autism. These mothers experience the normative exercise of their maternity in permanent tension given the way the disability of their sons and daughters is characterized in the medical field. The convergence between maternity and autism, considered as cultural phenomena, subject to plural concepts and practices, will allow a deeper exploration of how the tension inherent in the encounter between normality and disability is resolved. It is a privileged analytical context to understand how difference is constructed, how it is reproduced in the collective imaginary and how the processes of integration and normalization of disability in society are developed. Moreover, the life pathways of these mothers shed light on the existence of a normalizing discourse/practice regarding motherhood, built in a historical, economic and social context. This analytical perspective will help further knowledge about our processes of constructing meaning around disability.