The disabled child, their voice and their ability to be active agents in their own life

Abstract

Having our voice acknowledged and the ability to be an active agent in one’s own life is a privilege we often take for granted. However, although safe guarded by policies such as the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989), through my work with disabled children and their families, it appears that in everyday life the voice of the disabled child is often silenced. Thus, this thesis explores the power and projection of the disabled child’s voice together, with the opportunities available for them to be active agents in their everyday life, through the research question posed: Are young disabled children in Malta being allowed to be active agents and make their voice heard in their everyday life? Through the combination of the Mosaic Approach (Clark and Moss, 2005) as the methodology of choice, and the philosophy of Jacques Rancière, as a theoretical framework, this project provides an in-depth narrative of the experiences of three, young, disabled Maltese boys in the various settings of their lives. The mosaics formed, are then utilised to provide a better perspective of the power the disabled child’s voice holds, the barriers in place to active agency, and the diverse means employed by the child to transgress the boundaries placed by the adults. The discussion generated through the application of the philosophical thought of Jacques Rancière, brings to light the power of the disabled child’s voice, and the fact that they are indeed valid, active agents in the spaces of their lives.