Making Space: Dis/ability and the Scratch Online Community

Abstract

Dis/abled youth often face barriers to participation in computational making spaces. This paper examines how youth engage with the Scratch online community to share projects and discussions around dis/ability, creating meaningful connections through creative self-expression. Through counter-storytelling examples, we demonstrate how young people leverage Scratch not only as a programming platform but as a space to build community and celebrate dis/ability identity. Our findings uplift the ways in which young people engage in these spaces to highlight how creative computing environments foster inclusion and connection, dispelling deficit-based narratives in computer science education.