(Re)Imagining inclusion in ways that foster belonging in the lives of disabled children and youth

Abstract

For the greater part of the twentieth century, thanks in part to disability rights movements around the world, disableda children and youth have increasingly been afforded access to community spaces, such as schools and classrooms; and activities, such as inclusive recreation programs, alongside their non-disabled peers. However, despite increased access, disabled children report ongoing experiences of exclusion in spaces labelled as ‘inclusive’.1—3 Disabled children continue to be more likely than their non-disabled peers to experience bullying, discrimination, loneliness, and accessibility barriers that negatively impact their health and well-being.4 Evidently, there is a fundamental gap between how inclusion is theorized in practice and how inclusion is experienced in the everyday lives of disabled children.