Indigenous Perspectives on Childhood Disability Across Canada: A Critical Integrative Review and Implications for Service Providers

The urgent need for cultural safety and inclusivity when working with Indigenous children with disabilities and their families requires an appreciation of relevant cultural understandings, values, and practices. This critical integrative review identifies and synthesizes works investigating Indigenous perspectives on childhood, development, and disability, emphasizing its significance for professionals in healthcare, social services, and education. A critical integrative review of published works was completed. Five databases were consulted, and the search was supplemented by reference mining and peer and community consultation. Seventeen works met the inclusion criteria. Thematic analysis generated five cultural considerations for service providers working with Indigenous families: 1) the practice of communal child-rearing; 2) relational identities and the minimization of individual differences; 3) children as gifts and teachers; 4) balance and good relations as key to holistic health; and 5) respect for autonomous development. The reviewed works suggest several ways in which Indigenous perspectives on childhood disability might differ from those of many service providers embedded in Western biomedical education and health institutions. Highlighting these disparate views empowers professionals to reflect on how cultural differences could impact their work with Indigenous children and families and consider approaches that align with Indigenous values and ways of knowing. Implications for service delivery and inter-cultural collaboration are discussed.