Explores in detail an important section of the population of the Roman world which has too often been neglected.

Christian Laes is Associate Professor of Ancient History at the University of Antwerp, and Adjunct Professor at the University of Tampere. He specialises in the socio-cultural history of the Roman and late antique worlds. His previous books include Children in the Roman Empire: Outsiders Within (Cambridge, 2011) and Youth in the Roman Empire: The Young and the Restless Years? (Cambridge, 2014).

Introduction; 1. Conception, birth and the 'crucial' first days; 2. Mental and intellectual disabilities: sane or insane?; 3. Blindness: 'a fate worse than death'; 4. Deaf, mute and deaf-mute: a silent story; 5. Speech defects: stammering history; 6. Mobility impairments: history of pain and toil; Conclusions.