The care that sustains everything: mothers of autistic children as invisible infrastructure of prevention

This article proposes a reconceptualization of care provided by mothers of autistic children as a form of preventive infrastructure in vulnerable territories. While economic literature acknowledges the importance of prevention, it remains largely centered on formal institutional structures. Drawing on an interdisciplinary approach that integrates care economy, risk governance, and territorial inequality, this study argues that mothers of autistic children operate as distributed systems of risk anticipation and containment. The research adopts a qualitative, exploratory methodology based on interdisciplinary literature review and interpretive analysis of everyday caregiving practices in vulnerable contexts. It concludes that these practices constitute an empirical form of risk management that remains invisible within public policy frameworks. The article contributes by expanding the concept of prevention to include informal practices that sustain social and family stability.