ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a brief summary of foundational literature on problematic discourse and practice regarding the ‘appropriateness’ of parenting with a disability. In Western Europe and North America, up until the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, it was common for people with disabilities to live at home and remain in their communities. The ideology of intensive mothering is often expressed in formal institutional practices: social services, medical and educational institutions and government agencies continue to consider mothers as the primary moral guardian in the modern family. Policy is, of course, much more than words, comprising a template that guides practices across the board for mothers with disabilities. The chapter concludes with some suggestions for researching and theorising mothering and disability, arguing specifically for a feminist and poststructural approach to understanding the barriers and possibilities in policies and practices relating to mothering and being disabled.
