One of the most persistent and damaging assumptions in the way society relates to people with disabilities is this: that they are primarily recipients. People who receive help, care, accommodation and support. People whose presence in an activity or programme is something to be managed rather than welcomed.
This assumption shapes a great deal of youth work – often without anyone noticing. Programmes are designed for young people with disabilities as a special add-on to mainstream activities. Participation is offered as a form of charity rather than as a right. The language used – even when well-intentioned – positions young people with disabilities as the passive subject of inclusion efforts rather than as active agents in their own lives and communities.
CB4leisureYwD is built on a different premise. At the heart of the project is a deliberate shift in perspective: from seeing young people with disabilities as people who need, towards recognising them as people who give. People who bring experiences, insights, creativity and resilience that enrich any group, activity or community they are part of.
This is not simply a matter of positive framing or motivational language. It reflects a genuine truth. Young people with disabilities navigate a world that was largely not designed for them, and they develop remarkable skills in the process – problem-solving, adaptability, communication, self-advocacy. When these young people are included as full and active participants in sport, leisure and youth work, they do not just benefit from the experience. They contribute to it.
Making this shift requires more than changing words. It requires changing the way programmes are designed, the way spaces are arranged, the way youth workers are trained, and the way communities are invited to think about disability. It means asking not ‘how do we accommodate this young person?’ but ‘how do we create an environment where this young person – like every other young person – can participate fully and contribute meaningfully?’
This question sits at the centre of everything CB4leisureYwD does. The manuals, toolkits, online courses and curriculum developed through the project are all built around it. And the young people with disabilities who participate in and contribute to the project are living proof that the answer is worth pursuing.