Journal on Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

In this paper we address the intersection of Aboriginal, developmental disability, and child welfare status, in the lives of children identified as having all three of these labels. Disability and child welfare status, like race, are understood as a form of social oppression and institutional discrimination located in social processes and historical contexts as opposed to individual pathology. Many commonalities exist in the histories of Aboriginal people and people with developmental disabilities – experiences of oppression, marginalization, institutionalization, devaluation, and denial of human rights. In the contemporary picture, child welfare services have come to play an important role in the lives of Aboriginal children and children with developmental disabilities. Research indicates that both groups of children are over-represented in child welfare services. Higher rates of maltreatment are indicated to be a factor, as are social, political, economic and attitudinal issues. Aboriginal people typically experience a number of risk factors for both disability and for child welfare involvement. The intersectionality of Aboriginal, disability, and child welfare status, represents a very particular experience, of which little is known. As a group, the experiences and needs of children with all three labels have remained largely invisible to the majority culture and also within disability, child welfare, and Aboriginal research and discourse.

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