Mothers of children with disabilities as agents of change: Questioning the notion of verbalness

Abstract

Children with disabilities, particularly those whose primary mode of communication is everything other than verbal, are often pathologized and viewed as incompetent under the constructs of communicative ableism, which privileges speech as a desired and normative way of communication. Mothers of children with disabilities take on significant responsibilities to work as advocates for their children and counter deficit perspectives. Using disability critical race theory as a theoretical lens, this article centers on the voices of mothers of children with disabilities to address how the notion of verbalness was manifested in their experiences and to underscore the mothers’ efforts to question the unjust treatment their children faced. By using a qualitative research method, life history interviews were conducted with five mothers of children with disabilities. This article focuses on the stories of two mothers who have children with autism. The findings indicate that verbal communication was functioning as the norm in school contexts, which disadvantaged non-speaking/minimally speaking children with disabilities. Verbalness was associated with knowledge, ability, and normalcy rooted in ableism and racism. The mothers continued to challenge the normative notion of verbalness and engage in actions to bring changes to their children's education.