Self-determination of young people and adults with intellectual disabilities in rio grande do sul-Brazil

• Main Authors: Elisiane Perufo Alles, Iasmin Zanchi Boueri
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Asociación Nacional de Psicología Evolutiva y Educativa de la Infancia Adolescencia Mayores y Discapacidad 2019-07-01
• Series: INFAD
• Subjects: escala de intensidade de suporte; comportamento adaptativo; autodeterminação; deficiência intelectual; educação especial
• Online Access: http://www.infad.eu/RevistaINFAD/OJS/index.php/IJODAEP/article/view/1461

For decades, emphasis has been placed on investigating the teaching of daily life skills in order to broaden the independence and participation of disabled individuals in society. However, the importance of learning complex skills that help in social insertion and in the labor market, that is, refering to the transition to adult life, is important. The general objective of this study was to evaluate the support intensity of self-determination skills for young people and adults with intellectual disabilities in Rio Grande do Sul - Brazil. Sixty-six young people and adults with a diagnosis of intellectual disability aged 15-58 years old participated in the study. The Support Intensity Scale was applied to assess the support intensity required to perform adaptive behaviors. The scale is divided into three sections, the first one consisting of six parts, namely: domestic life activities; community life; lifelong learning; work\; health and safety, and social aspects. Section two presents protection and advocacy skills, and section three addresses specific needs for medical (3A) and behavioral (3B) support. In order to collect the data, the instrument was applied to the young people with disabilities along with the person in charge or the professional who had known him for more than 3 months. For this study, data on self-determination were analyzed and discussed. The results showed that 39 individuals attended only the special school; 15 had first cycle education; 11 subjects with schooling of the second cycle and one did not report. The length of stay of these individuals in institutions is from 1 to 24 years, and it is possible to indicate that those who remain for a longer period are the individuals with greater cognitive impairment. On the labor market, only three participants reported having participated in a protected workshop, voluntary work. Regarding the data of section two, the participants obtained results that showed an average of 74% of support needed for self-determination activities, the average was 76%, and the calculated mode was the percentage of 97% indicating that an expressive number of participants has high support rates. Our hypothesis is that young people with high levels of support need may have a lower quality of life index. Therefore, working with areas of complex learning could increase the quality of life and develop their full potential.