Includes bibliographical references (p. 233-242) and index.

1. Setting the stage : context and method -- 2. From past to present : American culture, public schools, and parents -- 3. The early years : first generation mothers -- 4. The implementation years : second generation mothers -- 5. The maintenance years : third generation mothers -- 6. Mothers speaking to mothers : a cross-generational conversation -- 7. Special education as ethical practice.

This book documents the experiences of 15 mothers whose children labeled learning disabled attended public schools during the last four decades. Despite the right of parents to participate in educational decision-making, these mothers describe the challenge of exercising that right. In candid and compelling narratives, mothers speak to the language of experts, conflicts in shared decision-making, devaluation of “mother knowledge,” and the influence of race, class, and gender. The constancy of issues suggests that this landmark legislation may, in fact, have engendered minimal changes in the lives of mothers and their children.