This thesis examines the construction of motherhood with twelve mothers of children with special needs. It pays particular attention to motherhood in a consumer culture and reveals the cultural discourses of normativity and abnormality that these women encounter. It investigates their responses to such discourses and illuminates the tension that can exist between felt pressure to achieve normalcy and the desire to fully honour their children. Finally, it outlines possibilities for resistance to discourse as articulated by the mothers.