مقاله انگلیسی رایگان در مورد خانواده های دارای اعضای معلول – الزویر 2017

Disability has been associated with pathology, limitations and other negative concepts. Currently, the models focus on the strengths and support in order to encourage greater autonomy of the person and higher quality of life for that person and their family. Intellectual disability must currently be understood from the ecological and contextual model, based on the interaction of the person with the disability and the vital contexts. Based on the new concept of Intellectual Disability addressed in the 11th edition of the Manual by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) and taking into consideration the article by Verdugo & Schalock (2010), “intellectual disability is understood not as a merely biological characteristic but is directly related to the context, leaving aside the discussion of the significance of environment and internal factors and putting everything on the same level”. This definition contemplates the influence of the family as a central nucleus during the growth of any child, and constitutes a context in which it is necessary to focus efforts in order to create a climate that helps to improve the quality of life of these children (González-del-Yerro, Simón, Cagigal & Gómez, 2013). The paradigm about disability and family evolves from a psychotherapeutical model (since the 50’s), through a parent education model (70’s), to a quality of life and empowerment model (from the 80’s). This new period is characterised by trusting a basic idea: the families are capable of handling the disability when provided with the necessary support, i.e. they are resilient families. (Arellano & Peralta, 2012) With the psychotherapeutical model, the professionals released the parents from their tasks of care and education and secluded the disabled people in hospitals, schools or psychiatric homes (Turnbull & Turnbull, 2002). The experts assumed control and issued opinions about the reactions, educational style and opinions of the parents. They considered the parents to be the origin of the children’s limitations, obstacles for their development and irrelevant for the intervention process. The mothers and fathers were considered to be vulnerable patients in a situation of mourning, requiring a treatment complementary to that received by their children and considered, in general, less intelligent, competent and objective than the professionals (Wehmeyer, Sands, Knowlton & Kozleski, 2002). With the appearance of the associationism movements, the stage of “professionalism” was left behind, which defended the rights of the people with disability, deinstitutionalisation, normalisation, empowerment, etc. It highlighted the role of parents in the improvement of their children’s quality of life, which has been described by many as a true act of courage (Abeson & Davis, 2000). In this new stage, the families moved from being guilty of the disability to being collaborators with the professionals and recipients of specific services. It must be recognised that the mothers / fathers have been and continue to be founders and members of organisations, promoters of services, recipients of the expert decisions, teachers and therapists for their children and responsible for making decisions about the intervention (Erwin & Soodak, 2008).