Autodeterminación en personas con discapacidad intelectual y del desarrollo: revisión del concepto, su importancia y retos emergentes

Advances in the conceptualization of intellectual disability and the emergence of self-advocacy movements have undoubtedly influenced constructs such as self-determination. In this study, an update on the way of understanding the construct is presented, as well as its importance on the development of self-determination across contexts of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This state of the issue is as well exemplified with the preliminary results of a study aiming to explore perceptions of self-determination importance for people with disabilities themselves, their families and the professionals who work with them. Even if professionals and families attribute high importance to self-determination, they still face needs and challenges in creating opportunities to foster self-determination in their contexts. The need to deeply explore and answer to these challenges is also discussed.