“Can Disability Be Positive?” Reflecting on Children’s Rights and Disability through Shaking the Movers: A Youth-led Consultative, Collaborative, Participatory Model

Abstract

This article takes a reflective approach from the perspective of the National Coordinator of a youth-led consultative and collaborative model known as Shaking the Movers, developed by The Landon Pearson Resource Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children’s Rights at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. It reflects on the model which was used to run a workshop that focused on children’s rights and disability to explore the guiding question: “Can Disability be Positive?” It reveals how the event unfolded, key messages from working with children and youth with disabilities, how the model worked or instances when it did not and key components that are helpful for other’s who may be interested in organizing a youth-led consultative and collaborative workshop with young people with disabilities. Ultimately, the paper explores the concepts of marginality and relationality and the ways these notions highlight how adult-centric views creep into the best laid efforts of adults who are aware of the strength of youth-led workshops.