Disability and Age

Welcome to a seminar discussing the significance of age in the lives of disabled people. How do the meaning of age and the experience of ageing differ between disabled and non-disabled people?

Speakers will present both empirical findings and theoretical reflections on ageing and transitions between life phases in the lives of disabled people. How do cultural norms shape our expectation of how people of different ages and impairments should behave? How do health and social care systems respond to the evolving needs of disabled people who are now living longer? And do services and research adequately consider the specific characteristics of different age groups, such as youth, in relation to disability?

Registration

Zoom link

Contact: disability2026@akademikonferens.se

Program

13.00 Welcome and introduction Simo Vehmas, Stockholm University

13.05 Developmental divergences - Understanding intellectual disability across cultures Patrick McKearney, University of Amsterdam

13.45 What might we be missing? Disabled youth in disability studies and youth studies Reetta Mietola, University of Helsinki

14.25 Ageing with intellectual disability – Challenges and possibilities Kia Mundebo, Mötas och Må bra-project, FUB

15.05 Coffee break

15.30 Sociology of disability and ageing Nick Watson, University of Glasgow

16.10 Discussion