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

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.