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I/We Narratives Among African American Families Raising Children with Special Needs

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Abstract

This paper examines a statistics debate among African American caregivers raising children with disabilities for insights into the work of “African American mothering.” Using ethnographic, narrative and discourse analyses, we delineate the work that African American mothers do—in and beyond this conversation—to cross ideological and epistemological boundaries around race and disability. Their work entails choosing to be an “I” and, in some cases, actively resisting being seen as a “they” and/or part of a collective “we” in order to chart alternative futures for themselves and their children.

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Acknowledgments

We extend our deepest gratitude to the women who shared their experiences and insights and all of the family members, practitioners and members of the research team for their invaluable contributions. This work was supported by the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Grant MCJ 060745, 1996–1999).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California, 3601 Watt Way, GFS 120, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-1692, USA

    Lanita Jacobs & Cheryl Mattingly

  2. Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, 1540 Alcazar Street, CHP 133, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-9003, USA

    Mary Lawlor

Authors
  1. Lanita Jacobs
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  2. Mary Lawlor
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  3. Cheryl Mattingly
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lanita Jacobs.

Transcription Notations

Transcription Notations

[adapted from Atkinson, John Maxwell, & John Heritage. (1984). Structures of Social Action: Studies in Conversational Analysis. New York: Cambridge University Press.]

[:

a left-hand bracket indicates the onset of overlapping, simultaneous utterances

(0.1):

indicates the length of a pause within or between utterances, timed in tenths of a second

(( )):

double parentheses enclose nonverbal and other descriptive information

( ):

single parentheses enclose words that are not clearly audible (i.e., best guesses)

Underline:

underlining indicates stress on a syllable or word(s)

Italics:

italics indicate talk that is in some way animated or performed (i.e. sarcasm)

Cap First Letter:

words or phrases with capitalized first letter(s) indicate talk that is carefully articulated or talk that is punctuated by a brief pause

CAPS:

upper case indicates louder or shouted talk

::

a colon indicates a lengthening of a sound; the more colons, the longer the sound

°:

this symbol is placed before and after words or phrases that are delivered in a soft volume

↓:

Down arrow marks words or phrases delivered with a downward intonational contour

> <:

“greater than” and “less than” symbols enclose words and/or talk that is compressed or rushed

< >:

“less than” and “greater than” symbols enclose words and/or talk that is markedly slowed or drawn out

< :

the “less than” symbol by itself indicates that the immediately following talk is “jump-started,” i.e., sounds like it starts with a rush

-, --:

a single or double hyphens also indicate talk that is either “jump-started,” i.e., sounds like it starts with a rush, or talk that ends abruptly

Hh (hh):

the letter h marks hearable aspiration; the more h’s, the more aspiration. Aspiration may represent breathing, laughter, and so on. If it occurs inside the boundaries of a word, it may be enclosed in parentheses in order to set it apart from the sounds of the word.

Heh:

marks laughter

(try 1)/(try 2):

this arrangement of words/phrases encircled by parentheses and separated by a single oblique or slash represents two alternate hearings

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Jacobs, L., Lawlor, M. & Mattingly, C. I/We Narratives Among African American Families Raising Children with Special Needs. Cult Med Psychiatry 35, 3–25 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11013-010-9196-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11013-010-9196-5

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