Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities by Design: From Product Centered to Justice and Person Centered Inclusive Co-design

Persons with disabilities and their needs were excluded by design according to the article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The review of the literature and secondary data revealed the three inclusive design school of thoughts and practices, and these included the following: The Canadian, the United Kingdom (UK), and the Technology Industry’s Inclusive Design school of thoughts and practices. The qualitative critical analysis of the three inclusive design school of thoughts resulted into the Justice and Person Centered Inclusive Co-Design (JPCICD) as the fourth inclusive deign school of thought and practice. The JPCICD expands on the Canadian inclusive design school of thought and practice to comprehensively cover justice, equity, and human diversity dimensions of design. The JPCICD shifted the focus of inclusive design from product and market system to person’s social, political, economic, cultural, and technological justice or total justice. It also considers the equity principle in its definition. The JPCICD was developed based on the foundation of the human rights and justice principles such as equity and equality human diversity, freedom of choice, and others. JPCICD focuses on equitable distribution of resources and power to the diverse excluded persons with disabilities by design.