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The social trajectory of illness: Autism in the ultraorthodox community in Israel

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  • Shaked, Michal

Abstract

Severe or chronic illness-related events present patients and their family members with a physically and socially changed reality. In analyzing 30 open-ended interviews of ultraorthodox Jewish Israeli mothers of children with autism, this paper addresses the general question of one childhood disorder's social trajectory and examines in particular mothers' efforts to promote their children's re-inclusion into the community. The illness narratives reveal the mothers' role as mediators between the child and the community, educating the child in religious praxis on the one hand and striving to bend social norms regarding this praxis to permit inclusion on the other. Despite these daily efforts, the ultraorthodox community challenges these children's status, and mothers turn to religious discourse to establish the status of the child with autism as an able Jewish individual. In utilizing spiritual discourse in daily activities, mothers only employ those cultural elements that advance the child's integration, thus further constructing small changes in religious themes. The findings highlight not only the mothers' role as mediators, but also their potential ability to set in motion processes of change.

Suggested Citation

  • Shaked, Michal, 2005. "The social trajectory of illness: Autism in the ultraorthodox community in Israel," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(10), pages 2190-2200, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:61:y:2005:i:10:p:2190-2200
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Garro, Linda C., 1994. "Narrative representations of chronic illness experience: cultural models of illness, mind, and body in stories concerning the Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ)," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 775-788, March.
    2. Daley, Tamara C., 2004. "From symptom recognition to diagnosis: children with autism in urban India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 58(7), pages 1323-1335, April.
    3. Landsman, Gail, 2003. "Emplotting children's lives: developmental delay vs. disability," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 56(9), pages 1947-1960, May.
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    1. Wei-Ju Chen & Zihan Zhang & Haocen Wang & Tung-Sung Tseng & Ping Ma & Lei-Shih Chen, 2021. "Perceptions of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Etiology among Parents of Children with ASD," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-10, June.
    2. Coleman-Brueckheimer, Kate & Spitzer, Joseph & Koffman, Jonathan, 2009. "Involvement of Rabbinic and communal authorities in decision-making by haredi Jews in the UK with breast cancer: An interpretative phenomenological analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 323-333, January.

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