Dis/ability in child and youth welfare – shortcomings and consequences

Abstract

This article opens up a difference-theoretical perspective on disability, based on a problematisation of the concept of diversity. Using the example of current reform efforts in Germany to establish an inclusive child and youth welfare, the discourses on disability there are briefly presented and discussed. To this end, the legal understanding of disability is first outlined and categorised and its references to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) are presented. The theoretical discussion takes place against the background of central models of disability, with particular reference to Disability Studies. It is shown that references to difference theory are both fruitful and necessary for a critical understanding of disability, as these connections – at least in Germany – have so far hardly been made in the debate on inclusive child and youth welfare. On the basis of these findings, theoretical and conceptual challenges are finally formulated with regard to disability as a category of difference in child and youth welfare.