real.time: Shaping the Future with and for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities—Selected Papers from the IASSIDD European Congress 2026
A special issue of Disabilities (ISSN 2673-7272).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 56
Special Issue Editors
Interests: disability and technology; profound intellectual and multiple disabilities; quality of life
Interests: augmented and alternative communication; profound intellectual and multiple disabilities; quality of life; qualitative research methods
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The IASSIDD European Congress 2026, held in Munich from 28 to 31 July 2026, is framed by the theme “real.time—Shaping the Future Together” and emphasizes shaping the future with and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This Special Issue builds on that theme by inviting contributions that address the current challenges, emerging evidence, and innovative practices in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities.
We welcome manuscripts that explore how research, policy, professional practice, and lived experience can jointly advance inclusion, participation, health, well-being, rights, and self-determination for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the course of life. Of particular interest are contributions that engage with timely societal transformations, including digitalization, changing service systems, participatory and inclusive research, community living, education, employment, and equitable access to health and social care.
This Special Issue seeks to bring together interdisciplinary and international perspectives that reflect the diversity of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the contexts in which they live. Empirical studies, reviews, conceptual papers, and practice-based contributions are all welcome. We especially encourage submissions that involve co-production, participatory approaches, and collaborations with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, families, practitioners, and advocacy organizations.
All contributors to the Congress are encouraged to submit full papers to this Special Issue based on their works presented at the conference.
Prof. Dr. Peter Zentel
Dr. Meike Engelhardt
Dr. Manuel Schwartze
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Disabilities is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- intellectual and developmental disabilities
- inclusion
- participation
- self-determination
- health and well-being
- participatory research
- community living
- digitalization
- policy and practice
- rights-based approaches
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Related Special Issue
- Selected Papers from the 6th IASSIDD Europe Congress in Disabilities (7 articles)
