ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines how cultural life changes from being young and growing up with impairments, to being older and frailer and developing impairments. It shows different experiences of cultural heritage, developed through different educational and life chances. The book explores how older people and people with disabilities’ inclusive practice is developed through engagement with cultural heritage. It aims to develop a new paradigm of inclusion and cultural heritage, by theorizing that cultural heritage develops and maintains identity. The book introduces the results of a survey of literature on human value, and the model of inclusive capital. It discusses the cultural heritage experiences and practices of two nineteen-year-old students in their final year at California School for the Blind, both of which boarded at the school and were preparing to leave.
