Citizenship and aging with CP

Attention to citizenship and aging with CP is relevant for several reasons.

• The impact of CP during aging increases, which complicates societal functioning and challenges one’s daily life.
• With the decentralizations of support and long-term care in 2015, the entitlement to support and care has been withdrawn, and citizens with disabilities need to manage more themselves and/or in their networks.
• By ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Dutch government has committed itself to equal citizen rights for persons with disabilities. This convention describes the full scope of citizenship.

In this project, nineteen adults with CP older than 40 years were interviewed using the Photovoice method. The participants were recruited by the Basalt Rehabilitation Centre. The interviews took place at participants' homes. Prior to the interview, participants took photographs of situations, places, or objects that reflected the meaning of citizenship for them. These photographs guided the interviews.

The aim of this project was to gain insight in what citizenship means for adults with CP older than 40 years and what they need in order to fulfil their citizenship. Based on the information gathered, an infographic and a short film were developed to advertise the theme of citizenship.