Disability and caregiving, the use of time of mothers of person with intellectual disabilities

Abstract

Disability and caregiving appear to be indissociable elements. This work aims to understand the way in which mothers of persons with disabilities assume caregiving by analyzing their use of time and how this influences their subjectivity. The participating mothers in this study chose to dedicate themselves to providing care to their children and make it the most important activity in their lives. Their days, however, are organized into productive and reproductive activities. This decision responds to the construction of an ideal caregiving subject, which is the result of a social imaginary ratified by public policies. An analysis of the use of time by mothers of persons with disabilities shows the relationship between caregiving in a disability context and the family, with implications at the subjective level. As a result, these women had to give up their personal goals to dedicate their lives to the needs of those they provide care to.