ABSTRACT
Over a period of eighteen months, I visited twenty-one families, each of which contained a child who had recently been identified at the local children’s hospital as suffering from one of a range of disabilities. The child’s mother was always present, sometimes the father or other child members and occasionally relatives and friends. In response to my questions, parents talked to me about such matters as: events concerning the disabled child’s diagnosis and treatment; their encounters with medical and other agencies; their activities within and without the home; their relationships with relatives and friends.
