Main description:

In the twenty-first century there is increasing global recognition of pain relief as a basic human right. However, as Susan Honeyman argues in this new take on child pain and invisible disability, such a belief has historically been driven by adult, ideological needs, whereas the needs of children in pain have traditionally been marginalised or overlooked in comparison.

Examining migraines in children and the socially disabling effects that chronic pain can have, this book uses medical, political and cultural discourse to convey a sense of invisible disability in children with migraine and its subsequent oppression within educational and medical policy. The book is supported by authentic migraineurs' experiences and first-hand interviews as well as testimonials from a range of historical, literary, and medical sources never combined in a child-centred context before. Representations of child pain and lifespan migraine within literature, art and popular culture are also pulled together in order to provide an interdisciplinary guide to those wanting to understand migraine in children and the identity politics of disability more fully.

Child Pain, Migraine, and Invisible Disability will appeal to scholars in childhood studies, children's rights, literary and visual culture, disability studies and medical humanities. It will also be of interest to anyone who has suffered from migraines or has cared for children affected by chronic pain.

Contents:

List of Figures

Preface: a Note to Readers

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Migraine as Invisible Disability

A History of Pediatric Pain and the Politics of Pill Culture

Materia Medica

Testifying Against Trigemony

Visibility Machines and Pain Proxies

Conclusion

Afterword: Scars (a Migraine Diary)

Appendix

References

Index