Araceli Arellano

Background: Home is a key context to foster self‐determination. This study examined whether intellectual disability moderates the relationship between home‐based opportunities to engage in self‐determined actions and self‐determination levels. Method: Middle and high school students with and without intellectual disabilities (aged 13–22) completed the AIR‐S questionnaire, which evaluates self‐determination capacity and opportunities at home. A moderation model was used to examine the relationship between home opportunities and self‐determination, as well as the moderating role of intellectual disability. Results: A positive association was found between home‐based opportunities and self‐determination. Although intellectual disability was not a significant direct predictor of self‐determination, once opportunities were considered, it significantly moderated this relationship, indicating that the positive association between opportunities at home and self‐determination became progressively stronger as levels of intellectual disability increased. Conclusions: Home‐based opportunities play a critical role in fostering self‐determination. Intellectual disability conditions how strongly supportive environments translate into self‐determined actions.

RESUMEN Las actitudes negativas hacia las personas con discapacidad actúan como barreras invisibles, impidiendo la inclusión y participación de dicha población en ámbitos educativos, especialmente en instituciones de educación superior. La investigación sobre actitudes, en México, sigue siendo un campo relativamente novedoso de conocimiento. Se presentan en este artículo dos estudios que analizan la presencia de prejuicios y actitudes hacia la discapacidad, en el entorno universitario. Se usan dos instrumentos con dos muestras diferentes (n=611 y n=308) y se presentan los datos sobre las actitudes y prejuicios y su relación con diferentes variables moderadoras como edad, sexo o contacto previo con personas con discapacidad. Los participantes presentan actitudes positivas y escasos prejuicios hacia la discapacidad. No se reportan diferencias significativas en función de variables sociodemográficas ni de contacto.

Background: Research suggests that parents who perceive themselves as more effective and satisfied report less stress when raising a child with autism. We examined associations between parenting sense of competence, reported family support needs, and parental future expectations, with a sample of mothers of children with autism. Method: Mothers completed a cross-sectional online survey, which included a measure of expectations: Hopes for the Future, the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale and the Family Needs Survey. Results: Analysis revealed that mothers with lower support needs had greater parenting satisfaction; and mothers with more positive expectations perceived themselves to be more effective. Ethnicity, expectations, and lower levels of perceived family support needs, were predictors of greater satisfaction. Higher positive expectations predicted a greater sense of efficacy. Conclusions: The findings highlight the need for further research into the factors that underlie parental efficacy and expectations when parenting a child with autism.

El logro de una relación colaborativa entre profesionales y familias es una de las herramientas más poderosas para satisfacer las necesidades de las personas con discapacidad intelectual. En el marco de una investigación cualitativa, se llevaron a cabo 40 entrevistas individuales con padres/madres con hijos con discapacidad intelectual, con el propósito de analizar sus percepciones sobre la interacción que mantienen con los profesionales. Para ello, y de acuerdo con el Enfoque Centrado en la Familia (EFC), se consideraron como indicadores de una buena práctica profesional las siguientes categorías: comunicación, compromiso, igualdad, destrezas, honestidad y respeto. El 68% de los entrevistados tiene una experiencia buena o muy buena de su interacción con los profesionales, pero detectan carencias que apuntan la necesidad de ser abordadas desde la perspectiva de este enfoque emergente. Se discute el significado específico de cada categoría, a partir de las percepciones de las familias.

Self‐determination is considered to be a basic human right which, to develop, demands contextual opportunities as well as individual competencies. For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the family is the natural support environment in the task of increasing control over their own lives. There is little, however, that has been published in S pain on the needs and strengths of families in this regard. This article presents a study carried out in S pain on the knowledge, attitudes and strategies that a sample group of parents ( N = 201) have regarding self‐determination. An analysis of the data gathered highlights the need for intervention proposals to prepare parents to further their children's self‐determination, through collaborative partnerships and through cognitive restructuring.