Synopses & Reviews
Our children mean the world to us. They are so central to our hopes and dreams that we will do almost anything to keep them healthy, happy, and safe. What happens, then, when a child has serious problems? In
Family Trouble, a compelling portrait of upheaval in family life, sociologist Ara Francis tells the stories of middle-class men and women whose children face significant medical, psychological, and social challenges.and#160;
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Francis interviewed the mothers and fathers of children with such problems as depression, bi-polar disorder, autism, learning disabilities, drug addiction, alcoholism, fetal alcohol syndrome, and cerebral palsy. Childrenandrsquo;s problems, she finds, profoundly upset the foundations of parentsandrsquo; everyday lives, overturning taken-for-granted expectations, daily routines, and personal relationships. Indeed, these problems initiated a chain of disruption that moved through parentsandrsquo; lives in domino-like fashion, culminating in a crisis characterized by uncertainty, loneliness, guilt, grief, and anxiety. Francis looks at how mothers and fathers often differ in their interpretation of a childandrsquo;s condition, discusses the gendered nature of child rearing, and describes how parents struggle to find effective treatments and to successfully navigate medical and educational bureaucracies. But above all, Family Trouble examines how childrenandrsquo;s problems disrupt middle-class dreams of the andldquo;normalandrdquo; family. It captures how childrenandrsquo;s problems andldquo;radiateandrdquo; and spill over into other areas of parentsandrsquo; lives, wreaking havoc even on their identities, leading them to reevaluate deeply held assumptions about their own sense of self and what it means to achieve the good life. and#160;
Engagingly written, Family Trouble offers insight to professionals and solace to parents. The book offers a clear message to anyone in the throes of family trouble: you are in good company, and you are not as different as you might feel...
Review
andquot;Leiterandrsquo;s insights into the experiences and challenges of adolescents with disabilities transitioning to adulthood highlight the difficult choices we face in an era of limited public resources.andquot;
Review
andquot;The focus and quality of Their Time Has Come is unmatched.and#160; Leiter provides a compelling and innovative account of the ongoing social changes in the treatment of children with disabilities.andquot;
Review
andquot;Highly recommended.andquot;
Review
andquot;An exquisite and magnificent piece of sociological scholarship, Family Trouble is clear, interesting, and highly engaging. Francisandrsquo;s study and analysis are rich and nuanced as she covers the many dimensions of the phenomenon she calls and#39;family trouble.and#39;andquot;
Review
andquot;Family Troubleand#160;offers rich, empirically based insights into the everyday, relational and emotional processes that mark the distinctive forms of and#39;concerted cultivationand#39; pursued by contemporary middle-class American families with and#39;problemedand#39; children.andquot;
Synopsis
Valerie Leiter argues that there are crucial missing links between federal disability policies and youthandrsquo;s lives. Her argument is based on thorough examination of federal disability policy and interviews with young people with disabilities, their parents, and rehabilitation professionals. Attention is given to the diversity of expectations, the resources available to them, and the impact of federal policy and public and private attitudes on their transition to adulthood.
Synopsis
The lives of youth with disabilities have changed radically in the past fifty years. Youth who are coming of age right now are the first generation to receive educational services throughout childhood and adolescence. Disability policies have opened up opportunities to youth, and they have responded by getting higher levels of education than ever before. Yet many youth are being left behind, compared to their peers without disabilities. Youth with disabilities often still face major obstacles to independence.
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In Their Time Has Come, Valerie Leiter argues that there are crucial missing links between federal disability policies and the lives of young people. Youth and their parents struggle to gather information about the resources that disability policies have created, and youth are not typically prepared to use their disability rights effectively. Her argument is based on thorough examination of federal disability policy and interviews with young people with disabilities, their parents, and rehabilitation professionals. Attention is given to the diversity of expectations, the resources available to them, and the impact of federal policy and public and private attitudes on their transition to adulthood.
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Synopsis
In
Family Trouble, a compelling portrait of upheaval in family life, sociologist Ara Francis tells the stories of middle-class men and women whose children face significant medical, psychological, or social challenges. Childrenandrsquo;s problems, she finds, begin a chain of disruption that touches virtually every aspect of the parentsandrsquo; lives, leading them to reevaluate deeply held assumptions about their own sense of self and what it means to achieve the good life.and#160;
About the Author
VALERIE LEITER is an associate professor of sociology and the chair of the department of sociology at Simmons College. She is the coeditor of Health and Health Care as Social Problems and The Sociology of Health and Illness: Critical Perspectives, ninth edition.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
1. A Crisis Situation?
2. The Rules Have Changed
3. Participation and Voice
4. Making Their Own Maps
5. College, Rights, and Goodness of Fit
6. The End of Entitlement
7. (Im)permanent Markers of Adulthood
8. Missing Links
Appendix: Research Methods
Notes
References
Index