Austerity as disabling: the state and uncertainty in the futures of children with disabilities

Journal article

This paper draws upon interviews conducted with parents to explore daily experiences of raising a child with disabilities. In particular, it looks at the cultural consequences of disability and the uncertainty that comes with raising a child with disabilities. In doing so, this paper follows existing literature in the field of the anthropology of disability in considering disability as culturally constructed. It also explores how the relationship with state services plays a significant role in shaping the extent to which parents feel that they are able to hope, and plan for the future. Past and current interactions, as well as dominant political and social discourses, leave many parents overwhelmed by feelings of worry and uncertainty, not just because they cannot imagine what the future will look like, but also because they do not trust that the welfare state will sufficiently provide for their child once they reach adulthood. This paper examines how parents manage these uncertainties. Through examining these manifestations of uncertainty and worry stemming from failures of state services I argue that, for these families, austerity is disabling.

Authors: Acheson, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Anthropological Society of Oxford
• Journal: Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford Online
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 47-68
• Publication date: 2023-12-19
• DOI: 10.5287/ora-9oexw4poo
• ISSN: 2040-1876
• Language: English
• Keywords: disability; uncertainty; the state; austerity; JASO