Conference Program

The significant increase in life expectancy among persons with disabilities has made visible a profound demographic and social transformation that challenges educational and welfare systems: the ageing of individuals who have lived with a disability since childhood or adulthood (ageing with disability). Unlike disabilities acquired in later life, this phenomenon entails a cumulative stratification of biological, social, and institutional vulnerabilities, requiring a pedagogical rethinking of self-determination, participation, and quality of life across the life course. This theoretical and argumentative contribution lies at the intersection of special education, ageing studies, and policy analysis. It draws upon the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), the European Disability Strategy 2021–2030, and the recent Italian disability reform (Law 227/2021; Legislative Decree 62/2024). Within this framework, the individual, personalised and participatory life project is analysed not merely as an administrative tool, but as a pedagogical device ensuring continuity and safeguarding active citizenship in older age. Ageing with disability reveals a “middle ground” between welfare systems: older persons with disabilities risk being neither fully recognised within mainstream ageing services nor adequately supported within adult disability services. This fragmentation leads to discontinuities in support, reduced opportunities for participation, and processes of double stigmatisation (age and disability) that undermine agency. From this perspective, educating for inclusive citizenship means challenging custodial and protectionist approaches and promoting enabling environments in which individuals are recognised as rights-holders capable of contributing to community life, even in advanced age. Particular attention is devoted to the narrative and participatory dimension. Recent literature highlights the limited presence of the direct voices of older persons with intellectual disabilities in research and decision-making processes. This raises a crucial pedagogical issue: the need to create spaces for listening, accessible communication tools, and co-design practices capable of making self-determination effective. In this sense, multidimensional assessment grounded in the ICF framework and the shared construction of the life project can become key levers for integrating health, relationships, housing, and social participation into a coherent and personalised plan oriented towards quality of life. The contribution outlines several operational directions for a pedagogy of inclusive ageing: (1) ensuring educational and project continuity across the life course; (2) integrating socio-health and educational dimensions; (3) valuing subjective well-being and meaningful relationships; and (4) strengthening local networks and co-programming practices with third-sector organisations. Within this perspective, special education functions as a translational device between formal rights and everyday practices, contributing to the construction of inclusive communities capable of sustaining active and self-determined citizenship in older age. Ageing with disability should therefore not be framed as a merely assistential emergency, but as a test case for inclusive democracy: educating for active citizenship entails guaranteeing continuity, dignity, and participation throughout the entire life course.