Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents some of the available evidence on disability, whether in a child or an adult, which indicates the importance of examining parents' conceptions of their child's condition. It shows that parents sustain their predominantly calm and cheerful appearance by asserting other interpretations of their situation which deny its undesirability and legitimate any suffering on their part. The book explains typical differences in parents' appearances, or inter-personal style, to negotiated definitions of the ways in which the parents' situation differs from that of normal parents. It suggests that there are no other definitions of their situation likely to be available to parents. The book deals with some of the available evidence on disability, as it is commonly divided into 'mental subnormality' and 'physical disability'.