Disability: Still Taboo in Family Placement?

Abstract

This article is based on the second annual BAAF lecture, delivered by Jennifer Cousins to the organisation's AGM on 18 November 2008. The article explores the place of disabled children in the context of adoption and foster care. The starting point for this exploration is the belief that when professionals talk about children, the picture is one of a generic, not-disabled child; that disabled children have an untouchable status which profoundly affects their life chances; that they are at the margins of our consciousness; and that, in some measure, disability is still taboo in family placement. The influences on these perspectives are discussed, starting with a wide-ranging sweep through different cultures and historical periods before looking at how the continued marginalisation of disabled people is affecting family-finding services for children in the UK. The principal argument is that disabled children are not a separate group, but are the responsibility of everyone engaged in working on behalf of young people. The taboo must be lifted.