Supporting the development of competences necessary for the independent living of people with profound disorders of intellectual development: an empirical study

• Autores: Monika Adamczyk, Piotr Majewicz, Jakub Wolny
• Localización: Multidisciplinary journal of school education, ISSN-e 2543-8409, ISSN 2543-7585, Vol. 24, Nº. 2, 2023 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Communication and social change), págs. 357-375
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Objectives of the research:The goal of the research was to identify the typeand extent of activities that special education facilities engage in to teachand promote independence in people with profound disorders of intellec-tual development. Research methods:Empirical material was collected using the author’s orig-inal online questionnaire, which consisted of 30 questions measuring the ex-tent to which students’ needs for developing independent living skills aremet. The survey was conducted among special education teachers (N=642)from seven European countries (Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Poland, Bulgaria,Romania, and Turkey).

    A short description of the context of the issue: Independent living iswidely seen as an immanent attribute of adulthood. Children and adoles-cents are prepared for independent living through the process of upbring-ing and socialization; people with disabilities are additionally preparedthrough rehabilitation. For people with a profound disorder of intellectualdevelopment, independent living is challenging but possible with the rightsupport.Research findings:The results indicate that in the course of developing independent living skills in people with profound disorders of intellectualdevelopment, efforts are mainly made to improve their self-managementskills and democratic management methods in both team work and indi-vidual work. Conclusions and recommendations:In the surveyed countries, there is a tendency to limit work for developing independent living skills to a sin-gle type of intervention. Rarely are two or three methods – not to mentionfour – simultaneously used to stimulate the development of independentliving skills. It is therefore necessary to call for increased efforts to promoteindependent living among people with profound disorders of intellectualdevelopment and to focus this support on autonomy, self-determination,achieving quality of life goals, and, above all, the ability to make decisions –since this is what determines true independence in life