Acknowledgements ix

Prologue: The Beginning xi

Introduction xiii

Part 1: Autism, Ambiguity and Unusual Beginnings

1 Autism: An Enduring Enigma 5

2 Causes for Conflict – Theories as to the Origins of Autism 15

3 The ‘Triad’: Difference, Distinctions and Diagnosis 27

4 From Uncertainty to …? 36

5 Diagnosis: A Spectrum of Emotions 41

6 ‘The Power of Naming’: Who Wears the Label? 51

Part 2: Disability, Normalcy and Stigma

7 Disability and the ‘Other’: The Social Construction of Normalcy 59

8 Autism, Disability and ‘Lives Unworthy’ 66

9 Autism, Invisibility and the Problem of ‘Passing’ 69

10 Averted Gazes: Living with Stigma 76

11 Disabled Bodies, Able World? 83

12 Struggling for Support 94

Part 3: ‘Every day is a battle’ – Mothers ‘en la lucha’

13 Refrigerator Mothers: Too Cold to Care? 116

14 A Mother’s Work is Never Done: Struggle in the Everyday 131

15 Necessity is the Mother of Invention: ‘Maternal Thinking’ and Neglected Sites of Knowledge 148

16 Lived Experience in Practical Theology: Knowing Your Limits 163

Conclusion: ‘Pragmatic Unresolvement’ – Towards a New Theology of Struggle 175

Postscript: Micah’s Own Words 178

Bibliography 179

Index 191