NATIONAL FORUM OF MULTICULTURAL ISSUES JOURNAL
VOLUME 10, NUMBER 2, 2013
SPONSORED BY THE TEXAS CHAPTER OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR
MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION
24
The Reason that Patrick was Sent: A Mexican American Talks
about her Son’s Disabilities
Diana Linn
Assistant Professor of Special Education
Department of Professional Programs
College of Education
Texas A&M International University
Laredo, TX
______________________________________________________________________________
Abstract
This article explores Mrs.García‟s story, as she talks about her 26-year old son‟s severe physical
disabilities.Mrs.García‟s narrative was analyzed using a holistic-content perspective. Several
themes appeared intertwined throughout the narrative including culture, religion, indebtedness,
and personal transformation. Mrs.Garcíacontinually tries to answer the question „why me?‟
Although the question is never answered definitively, Mrs.García talks about the possibility of
her son being sent to her for a variety of reasons.
______________________________________________________________________________
“It is often by telling stories that educators… have come to understand the needs of
persons with disabilities” (Pugach, 2001, p. 493). There are many stories to tell in the field of
special education. First, there are the stories from the students with disabilities themselves (e.g.
Connor, 2009; Reid & Button, 1995). Also, there are the stories of the educators of students with
disabilities (Del Rosario, 2006; Jewett et al., 1998). There are even narratives of teachers with
disabilities teaching students with disabilities (Ferri, Keefe, & Gregg, 2001). Finally, there are
the stories from the parents of individuals with disabilities. Skinner, Bailey, Correa, and
Rodriguez (1999) introduced narrative as a vehicle for parents to tell stories about their
children‟s disabilities.
The articles by Skinner and her colleagues (Skinner, Bailey, Correa, & Rodriguez, 1999;
Skinner, Rodriguez, & Bailey, 1999; Skinner, Correa, Skinner, & Bailey, 2001) provided the
framework and points for discussion for this narrative about how one Mexican American
constructs her identity as the mother of an individual with severe physical disabilities.
Specifically, the purpose of this study was to examine the narrative of a Mexican American
mother of an individual with severe physical disabilities to determine how self is constructed in
relation to a child with special needs. Additionally, the author was interested in comparing and
contrasting themes found within this mother‟s narrative with the themes found in the Skinner
articles.
In discussing emerging themes of the Latina mothers‟ narratives, Skinner, Bailey, Correa,
and Rodriguez (1999) noted that the majority of the mothers interpreted their experience with a

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child who has disability as something that caused them to become better mothers and better
persons. Within the theme of being a better mother, the participants talked at length about their
struggles, sacrifices, roles, and feelings as mothers of a child with a disability, but they did so to
present themselves as a good mother. Mothers related exact and detailed descriptions about the
things they did for their child, how they worked to locate services for their child, and how they
devoted themselves to care for the child full time. In short, mothers related all they had done for
the sake of their child.
The authors note that while the theme of the dedicated, sacrificing, and sometimes
suffering mother is a powerful theme found in many cultures; this identity in these Latinas may
be shaped in part by Catholicism, where those who suffer and sacrifice are seen as morally
virtuous. This “relationship between one‟s identity as a good mother, the child with disabilities,
and God” (Skinner, Bailey, Correa, & Rodriguez, 1999, p. 487) was apparent in many of the
narratives. Additionally, many mothers said that their child was a reward or blessing given to
them by God because they were found worthy of receiving and raising a child with a disability or
because God wanted them to become better persons and/or mothers through this experience.
Another important theme in these mothers‟ narratives was that of personal
transformation; how the experience of having a child with disabilities changed them and their
lives. Mothers maintained that they became more compassionate, understanding, and stronger
persons. They also said that they matured and became closer to God. Furthermore, their
narratives included descriptions of the self before the child‟s birth and the self they had become
because of having a child with a disability (Skinner, Bailey, Correa, and Rodriguez, 1999).
Methodology
The informal conversational interview (Patton, 2002) was used in this study. This
technique was considered appropriate for eliciting the narrative in this study because it is “the
most open-ended approach to interviewing” and it because it “offers maximum flexibility to
pursue information in whatever direction appears to be appropriate” (Patton, 2002, p. 342). The
entire interview was tape-recorded and transcribed.
Mrs. García, a Mexican American in her late fifties, who has a twenty-six year old son
with severe physical disabilities, was interviewed for this study. First, Mrs. García was asked to
describe her son‟s disabilities. She required no prompt after that and began to describe how her
family had changed and then how she had changed as a result of having a son with disabilities.
From there she described the role that religion played in her life and how that related to the fact
that her son had disabilities. The first prompt in the interview came after approximately thirteen
minutes when she said “your perspective on life changes; it‟s completely different.” Mrs. García
was asked how it had changed for her. The second and final prompt occurred after another five
minutes had passed. She seemed to be coming to the end of her narration and so was asked if she
had finally answered the question, “Why me?” Excerpts from the interview are quoted in the
following analysis, results, discussion and conclusions.
Analysis and Results
Mrs. García‟s narrative fits Linde‟s (1993) two criteria for including a narrative in a life

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story. First, Mrs. García‟s account includes an “evaluative point.” It “illustrates something about
the character of the speaker” (p. 21). As the reader will soon see, Mrs. García‟s narrative
excludes extensive information about the kind of person she is because of having a son with
disabilities. Secondly, Mrs. García‟s narrative has “extended reportability.” Indeed, the story of
her son‟s disabilities is unusual and “run[s] counter to expectations” (p. 22).
I employed holistic-content perspective (Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach, &Zilber, 1998)
during the reading, coding and analyzing of Mrs. García‟s narrative. Lieblich and her colleagues
suggested “two approaches to reading life stories from a content-holistic point of view” (p. 87).
First, I examined Mrs. García‟s story for “general themes and emerging foci.” These themes
include the intersections of culture, religion, and superstition, indebtedness, and personal
transformation. The themes are repeated often and intertwined throughout the narrative. After
using this first approach, I used “specific segment[s] of the text …to shed light on the story as a
whole” (p. 87). I did this because I considered the description of Mrs. García‟s son‟s disabilities,
as well as some of aforementioned themes, as preludes to the real substance of the narrative: why
she has a son with disabilities. Various answers to the question “why me?” can be found
immediately in the introduction and then repeatedly throughout Mrs. García‟s narrative.
Theme: Intersections of Culture, Religion, and Superstition
Linde (1993) suggested that both the content and form of life stories is a product of a
person‟s culture. Mrs. García‟s first reference to culture is when she speaks of having a son after
giving birth to three girls. “Hispanic men are very traditional, they want a son. For what reason I
do not know.” Additionally, Mrs. Garcíaspeaks of the marriages she has seen break up because
of the inability of some Hispanic males to accept a child with disabilities. For example, Salas-
Provance, Erickson, and Reed (2002) stated, “machismo (or maleness, virility) may contribute to
the denial of a disability” (p. 152). One explanation for machismo contributing to denial of a
disability is that machismo includes the responsibility of being a strong protector of family (Hall
&Barongan, 2002). Once a disability occurs, there is often not much that can be done to reverse
the disability. Because machismo includes responsibility as a strong protector of the family, it
could be theorized that because disability frequently occurs within the womb, Mexican American
men feel helpless in dealing with disability (Hall &Barongan, 2002). Regarding this issue, Mrs.
Garcíanoted:
I think in Hispanic families when a child with abnormalities is born to the family many,
many families break up because Hispanic fathers, it is very hard to understand and to
accept that I am the man who created this child and sometimes the Hispanic men are very
proud people and they cannot accept that and I‟ve seen a lot of marriages that break up
because of that.
The themes of culture, religion, and superstition found in the narrative are intertwined in
a story within a story (Riessman, 1993) when Mrs. García relates the story about how her son
was named:
I one day walked into a department store which they sold uh children‟s wear and we
saw these two old women who had never gotten married and they were very friendly to
me and they were very nice people and she said to me „Mrs. García, do you want a little

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boy?‟ And I said, „Of course!‟ And she said, „Do you have a Bible at home?‟ And I said,
„Yes.‟ And she said, „When you go home, open the Bible and if the Bible speaks of a
man, then you‟re going to have a little boy and if the Bible speaks of a woman, then
you‟re going to have another little girl.‟ Well, when you‟re young and I don‟t know, you
believe you know the Hispanic people are very superstitious so I came home right away
and of course I have a Bible at the front door to my house and I opened the Bible and the
Bible story was David and Goliath, it had to do with David. My husband has never
wanted the children to have two names. He only wanted one name and that was it. Well,
the day before Patrick was born, Patrick was induced because his date went by and of
course, I knew exactly what date Patrick was going to be born because he was induced, I
had a dream and in that dream my little boy dies because I had not named him Patrick, I
mean David. So the day before I went to the hospital I told my husband, you know, I
have to tell you something I did this and it spoke of a child and of a uh a little boy, of a
man named David, and I had a dream a few nights ago and I said I have to tell you that
because we had already picked out the name Patrick. Patrick, when our firstborn was
going to come, we had two names, Deborah and Patrick and I had three little girls and so
we were still with the name of Patrick. And I said and I have to tell you this because I
don‟t want my child to die and he said don‟t worry about it; we‟ll name our son Patrick
David. So his name is Patrick David.
Several elements of the Hispanic culture are evident in this part of the narrative. First,
spinsters are notorious for giving advice to married women, especially about pregnancies,
children, and child rearing. Secondly, most Hispanic families keep an open Bible on a table in
the entrance hall of their home. Thirdly, Hispanics tend to be superstitious, as Mrs. García admits
to being, especially when it comes to advice and dream interpretation. It is also noteworthy that
both the advice and the dream have religious overtones.
Theme: Indebtedness
The theme of indebtedness is apparent in the narrative and takes two forms. First, Mrs.
García speaks of strangers helping her when Patrick was in the hospital.
When Patrick was four and a half years old we took him to Children‟s Hospital in Boston
and I had to spend many months with him over there. I met a lot of people who helped
me with no condition [probably a direct translation from the Spanish „sin condiciones‟
which means „with no strings attached‟], that give me things that you don‟t expect, they
were not family. And they were very nice to me. They were very hospitable. Um they
treated me as if I was their own family. I never expected that from another person. Yet, I
never knew these people. And I would probably never see them again in my life. So I
have to do that for somebody else because if those people did it to me, and never they
were not expecting anything in return and they were probably never going to see me
again so that‟s my attitude now.
Secondly, Mrs. García also speaks of giving something back to the community to parents
of children with disabilities because of her experiences with Patrick, another type of
indebtedness:

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I wish that I could, you know, one day be able to help somebody else. I have
spoken to several people who have children with physically challenges or whatever
but my greatest thing that I want to do when I become older, when I retire, I want to
spend time at the hospital, at the pediatric department because when I was in the
hospital I found out that a lot of parents, mothers, could not stay with their children
because they had to work. They couldn‟t afford to and a lot of kids were very
lonely and so that is one of my things that I want to do when I retire.
Research suggests that women who work in disability related fields find these
experiences enriching and rewarding (Ryan&Runswick-Cole, 2008). Mrs. García brings up a
valid point in her narrative: many parents do not have the resources, either time or money, to stay
with their children. Mothers, such as Mrs. García, have valuable skills, expertise and knowledge
that other mothers of children with disabilities can profit from (Ryan &Runswick-Cole, 2008).
Theme: Personal Transformation
The theme of personal transformation, how Mrs. García has changed as a result of having
a child with disabilities, is intertwined with the answers to the question, “Why me?” Throughout
her narrative, Mrs. García continually comes back to the issue of why she has a child with
disabilities. Yes, curiously, the question is never concretely or completely answered. She ends
many sections of her discourse with the clause, “if that was the reason that Patrick was sent,”
giving the idea that there are many and multiple reasons she feels that Patrick was sent to her.
The following excerpts from different parts of the narrative show how Mrs. García addresses the
question of why she has a child with disabilities. Firstly, she surmises it may be because of
things that happened before or during her pregnancy.
Why? The medical reasons: We were told that Patrick has a, it‟s a genetic problem
that it goes back several generations. And uh of course at that time I went back in
my mind and I thought that could have happened. One of the reasons that I thought
that sticks in my mind was that I had been exposed to measles. I was also taking
birth control pills and I became pregnant right away. And uh I had also lost forty
pounds cause I had gotten on a diet. So out of those things I think um contributed to
Patrick being um you know born with physical handicaps.
Mrs. García also suggests that religion and her faith may have played a part:
Why? To bring more faith or to justify the faith I’ve acquired: But at that time I think that
through one of the sisters from (local Catholic elementary school where she works) I
became very friendly with her and she introduced me to our Virgin Mary. I became very,
I, I acquired a lot of faith from her. I put my problems in her hands, and we did the best
we could. Had it not been for the faith that I had with my God I don‟t think that I would
have never made it. I‟ll never know the reason. And as I told you had it not been for the
faith that I acquired before Patrick was born because sometimes God works in strange
ways. Uh, I‟ll never know. God was preparing me for a big thing to come.
Another reason she gave had to do with her character traits. According to McLauglin,

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Goodley, Clavering, and Fisher (2008), the work mothers of individuals with disabilities do can
lead to feelings of accomplishments. This is evidenced in the following part of the narrative:
Why? To make me a better/special/wiser/lucky person: Um, I am a better person
because of Patrick. I think that I am also very special person because I have become
a wiser person. I am also very lucky because Patrick does not have any mental
disabilities.
Why? Because I am capable: I think that God send him to me because He‟s looking
down from Heaven and saying um this lady will take very good care of him and I
know that uh she won‟t give up, which we have not.
Why? To bring happiness: And we were very happy when Patrick was born. Um,
we‟ll never know why Patrick was sent to our family, but for whatever reason he
has brought joy, happiness, love.
Caring for a child with disabilities leads to broad changes in a family‟s patterns of life
and how they find that life enhanced (McLaughlin, Goodley, Clavering& Fisher, 2008). In
answering the question of “why”, Mrs. Garcíatalked about how having and caring for Patrick had
changed many aspects of her life:
Why? To bring more appreciation for my husband and more family unity: Um, my
husband is, is very, very good. I am very grateful for him and to have him because
Patrick has brought this family together. He changed our whole family; we had to deal
with whatever we had and to help each other out.
Why? To change my perspective on life: Everybody thinks, it‟ll never happen to me
and then it does and then uh your perspective on life changes; it‟s completely
different. (Interviewer: How did it change for you?) For me? It changed for me
because um I saw things very, very different. When we, when we uh moved
here to the north side I was very interested in having a beautiful house, a new house
and when Patrick was born I really didn‟t care.
Why? To tell me how to live my life: I help whoever needs the help and I don‟t
care who they are, or if they have any money, or it‟s going to bring me, if I help
these people that means that she‟s going to help me in doing something else. I
never expect them to because I‟m doing it because of the kindness of my heart;
because I think that it should be done and somebody else is going to help me and
that‟s the chain. That‟s the chain of life you know uh if we take care of each other
more we wouldn‟t have so many bad people in the world.
Discussion
Mrs. García‟s narrative parallels the narratives in Skinner et al. in several ways. The
persona of the sacrificing mother is apparent in Mrs. García‟s narrative. She speaks of the many
sacrifices made by her, her husband, and her daughters. She states, “My life revolves around my

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son, my husband‟s does too.” This reflects the Hispanics‟ protective and cohesive family system
(Graf, Blankenship, Sanchez, & Carlson (2007). Also, like the women in the Skinner study, Mrs.
García feels that God sent her son to her because she was capable of taking care of him and
because she had the faith required to see her through the situation.
The second of the Skinner and her colleagues‟ themes, personal transformation, is also
present in Mrs. García‟s narrative. Mrs. García feels she is a better person because of Patrick.
Specifically, she sees herself as a wiser, more grateful, and a more helpful person because she
has a son with disabilities. In addition, material things are now not as important to her as they
were before Patrick was born. The following except shows how Patrick has transformed her.
But not everybody thinks that. [That they should help other people] Perhaps in my
situation it took Patrick to think like I do now. And if that is the reason why Patrick came
to our family I am very thankful. I don‟t, don‟t um wish this on anybody, but it makes
you a better person and if Patrick was sent for that reason, then I am thankful.
Conclusion
Mrs. García tells a captivating story of her son‟s disability—from the moment he was
born to his present life, which finds him employed as support personnel in a computer lab at a
local school. The transcription of the narrative provided rich descriptions of the themes of
culture, religion, superstition, indebtedness, and personal transformation interwoven throughout
the narrative. Also interconnected throughout Mrs. García‟s narrative was her attempt to try and
make sense of why she gave birth to a son with severe physical disabilities. Stories like Mrs.
García‟s help people who work with students with disabilities understand how a mother may try
and make sense of her special reasons for having a son with a disability.
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