Instituto Universitario de Integración en la Comunidad

Background This paper examines the perceived quality of working life of workers with intellectual disabilities. Specifically, this paper looks at participants’ perceptions in relation to perceived job demands and resources and their impact on experienced job satisfaction. Methods In this cross-sectional survey, 507 workers with intellectual disabilities, employed in either sheltered workshops or supported employment, completed questionnaires on the quality of working life through semi-structured interviews. Results Regression analyses showed that perceived low job demands and elevated social support from coworkers and supervisors predicted higher quality of working life. Conclusions Common organizational psychology measures can be successfully used with this population to assess quality of working life. This study confirms the multidimensional nature of quality of working life, and the impact of job demands and available resources on perceived satisfaction with job for workers with intellectual disabilities.

Agencies offering supported employment (SE) in the European Union (EU) were surveyed using a Web-based questionnaire in 2006. Responses were obtained from 184 organizations, primarily from Finland, Spain, and the United Kingdom (UK). The majority of respondents offered a wide range of services with 83% offering SE and about half having begun offering it in the last 5 years. The data showed many organizations offering services in addition to SE (e.g., vocational training or sheltered work provision). There was significant variation in provision of key elements of SE, particularly workplace support. This may disadvantage people with intellectual disabilities (ID). Funding of SE varied across areas, with 22% overall reliant on short-term European funding. People with ID were the largest group of users by “minorities” in Finland and Spain. Most worked more than 24 h per week, with only a minority having permanent contracts. Hours of support were generally low. The authors conclude that funding for SE is fragile and that variations in the model used may disadvantage people with more severe ID, and thus lead to less effective SE. Fewer hours worked in the UK than elsewhere suggest a lack of harmonization of welfare benefit legislation provision across the EU, again affecting people with ID disproportionately. The study highlights the need for follow-up studies.

Las personas con discapacidades intelectuales (DI) y del desarrollo que presentan una mayor necesidad de apoyos constituyen un grupo especialmente vulnerable en lo que a defensa y garantía de sus derechos se refiere. A pesar de ello, su situación no ha sido objeto prioritario de estudio ni han existido desarrollos específicos de política social para responder a sus necesidades, lo cual se traduce en una escasez de interés por conocer en profundidad la realidad de estas personas, dificultades para garantizar el cumplimiento de sus derechos y falta de iniciativas orientadas al logro de su plena inclusión. Todo ello hace necesario el emprendimiento de una serie de acciones, traducidas en objetivos del presente trabajo: examinar y sintetizar los datos existentes sobre este colectivo en nuestro país; detectar sus necesidades y el grado de cumplimiento de las mismas; y proponer orientaciones claras y basadas en el conocimiento para asegurar el bienestar y el cumplimento de derechos. Para ello, la metodología empleada ha consistido en: (a) la revisión de la literatura científica más relevante de los últimos diez años sobre DI y grandes necesidades de apoyo; y (b) la explotación de distintas bases de datos como la Encuesta de Discapacidad, Autonomía personal y situaciones de Dependencia, EDAD (INE, 2008) y del Sistema de Información del Sistema para la Autonomía y Atención a la Dependencia (SISAAD), entre otras. A partir de los datos analizados y observando las situaciones frecuentes de exclusión a las que se enfrenta este colectivo, se extraen líneas urgentes de actuación para mejorar el conocimiento sobre las condiciones de vida de las personas con DI más significativa que permitan el desarrollo de buenas prácticas en la provisión de apoyos a este colectivo.

BACKGROUND: Concepts such as support, quality of life and quality of services are customary in services for people with intellectual disabilities. The identification of the different ways of conceiving, prioritising and implementing these concepts by service providers can help to drive changes to achieve better personal outcomes for this population. The current study aims to identify service providers' perceptions regarding the quality of life of their clients and the quality of services they provide. It also aims to identify similarities and differences of appraisals among professionals, and to identify associations between supports, quality of life and quality of services. METHOD: Data were collected from 22 service providers who attended three focus groups (professionals, direct support staff, and managers) from whom 424 comments were analysed. Service providers were asked about the required support for users, the meaning of quality of life for those users, and about features that should characterise quality services. Thematic analysis was employed and transcripts of the sessions were coded according to the dimensions of models on supports, quality of life and quality of services. Chi-squared tests were utilised to test for potential differences among groups. RESULTS: Each professional group has its own priorities concerning required supports. Among the organisation different and potentially conflicting perceptions regarding the meaning of experiencing quality of life coexist. Concerning quality of services, only managers mentioned personal outcomes. Finally, institutionalisation has a negative impact on supports, quality of life and quality of services. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to move beyond a shared awareness of the negative impact of institutionalisation towards the transformation of services in search of personal quality outcomes.

The purpose of this study is to improve supported employment programs analyzing the relationships between different variables involved in its development on job outcomes. One important variable is typicalness (understood as the degree to which the job of the person with a disability is similar in its different characteristics to that of co-workers without a disability). It also compares sheltered employment and supported employment in employment outcomes. The results showed more length of service in the job and salary for supported employment workers. As regards the developmental variables, time of external support, type of support, and adaptations are critical to get better outcomes. Finally, the need to finely balance the typicalness of the job and the characteristics of the worker involved is stressed.

There is very little knowledge regarding autistic adult services, practices, and delivery. The study objective was to improve understanding of current services and practices for autistic adults and opportunities for improvement as part of the Autism Spectrum Disorder in the European Union (ASDEU) project. Separate survey versions were created for autistic adults, carers of autistic adults, and professionals in adult services. 2,009 persons responded to the survey and 1,085 (54%) of them completed at least one of the services sections: 469 autistic adults (65% female; 55% <35 years old), 441 carers of autistic adults (27% female; 6% <35 years old), 175 professionals in adult services (76% female; 67% in non-medical services). Top choices by autistic adults, carers or professionals for services best suiting their current needs were: residential services: "help in own home" (adults, carers of high independent adults, professionals), "fulltime residential facility" (carers of low independent adults); employment services: "job mentors" (adults, carers of high independent adults, professionals), "Sheltered employment" (carers of low independent adults); education services: "support in regular education setting" (all groups); financial services: financial support in lieu of employment ("Supplementary income for persons unable to have full employment" for adults, "full pension" for carers of low independent adults) or to supplement employment earnings for carers of high independent adults and professionals; social services: "behavior training" (adults) and "life skills training" (carers and professionals). Waiting times for specific services were generally < 1 month or 1-3 months, except for residential services which could be up to 6 months; most professionals were uninformed of waiting times (>50% responded "don't know"). Five of seven residential services features recommended for autistic adults were experienced by <50% of adults. The knowledge of good local services models that work well for autistic adults was generally low across all services areas. The variation in services experiences and perceptions reported by autistic adults, carers, or professionals underscore the need to query all groups for a complete picture of community services availability and needs. The results showed areas for potential improvement in autistic adult services delivery in the EU to achieve recommended standards.

Given the conditions under which they live, the Sahrawi refugee population in the Algerian Hamada region are deprived of taking part in social, health, and economic systems, leading to occupational apartheid. This study applied the WHODAS 2.0 questionnaire to a total of 33 Sahrawi people of an average age of 39.3 years, living in different wilayas (large camps), with the purpose of learning about their health status and functioning in the past 30 days concerning cognition, mobility, self-care, social relations, life activities, and community participation. Overall, participants faced difficulties in terms of functioning (WHODAS 2.0), particularly in their daily occupations, and even more so in their social participation. This is explained both by the occupational deprivation and apartheid they have faced for more than 40 years due to their refugee status, and by the sociopolitical factors involved, in addition to their full dependence on humanitarian aid. Accordingly, the environment and context of the Sahrawi population are particularly important in terms of their engagement in occupations.

BACKGROUND: Vojta Therapy is a neurorehabilitation therapy that allows to activate reflex movement patterns. The scientific literature has shown its ability to generate muscle contractions. The activation of brain neural networks has also been proven. However, the relationship between these processes has not yet been demonstrated. For this reason, the aim of this study is to verify brain activation produced by recording with near-infrared spectroscopy and its relationship with muscle activation produced in the abdominal muscles recorded with surface electromyography. METHODS: A total sample of 27 healthy subjects over 18 years of age was recruited. An experimental study on a cohort was conducted. Two experimental conditions were considered: stimuli according to the Vojta protocol, and a control non-stimuli condition. Abdominal muscle activation was measured using surface electromyography, and the activation of the motor cortex was assessed with near-infrared spectroscopy. RESULTS: In relation to the oxygenated hemoglobin concentration (HbO), an interaction between the stimulation phase and group was observed. Specifically, the Vojta stimulation group exhibited an increase in concentration from the baseline phase to the first resting period in the right hemisphere, contralateral to the stimulation area. This rise coincided with an enhanced wavelet coherence between the HbO concentration and the electromyography (EMG) signal within a gamma frequency band (very low frequency) during the first resting period. CONCLUSIONS: The results underscore the neurophysiological effects on the brain following tactile stimulation via Vojta Therapy, highlighting increased activity in pivotal areas essential for sensory processing, motor planning, and control. This activation, particularly evident in the Vojta stimulation group, aligns with previous findings, suggesting that tactile stimuli can not only evoke the intention to move but can also initiate actual muscle contractions, emphasizing the therapy's potential in enhancing innate locomotion and rolling movements in patients with neurological disorders.

As assessed by numerous neuropsychological tasks, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) have similar impairments related to executive functions (EFs). The neuropsychological profile of these two conditions was examined using the three-component EFs' framework of Miyake and Friedman (Cogn Psychol 41(1):49-100, 2000). This approach assesses Inhibition (suppression of unwanted and irrelevant information/responses), Updating (use and control of contents of working memory), and Shifting (disengagement between activities or mental tasks) using nine different tasks. In line with previous research, we expected greater performance deficits in ASD in all three components compared to SSD, as well as faster responses for the SSD group. A self-paced task format allowed us to examine whether unlimited time given for a task would lead to better performance. The sample was constituted by the control group (N = 25), ASD group (N = 24), and SSD group (N = 12). Groups did not differ on Inhibition performance. In Updating, individuals with SSD performed poorer than the other groups. As for Shifting, both groups demonstrated poorer performance compared to controls, with the SSD group presenting the greatest difficulties. In terms of reaction time (RT), SSD participants' RT were the slowest on Inhibition and Shifting tasks. There was a positive correlation between performance and time spent on Inhibition and Shifting only for the SSD group, which demonstrates that their performance improves when there are no time constraints. Our work provides a better understanding of spared and impaired EFs, which could be useful for designing strategies aimed at improving specific EFs in each group.

Introduction: It is crucial to provide a quality educational response to the needs of autistic children across various mathematical domains. However, there is no consensus on which of the early skills have the greatest predictive effect in the short and long term within these domains. Therefore, this research aimed to a) compare early numerical skills and mathematics domains, and 2) analyze the predictive value of early numerical skills into mathematics domains. Methods: Forty-two children (twenty-one autistic children and twenty-one non-autistic children) aged 6-12 years participated in the study. Three areas were evaluated through different tasks: 1) control tasks: reading, impulse control and manual speed, 2) early numerical skills: counting, verbal subitizing, magnitude comparison and estimation, and 3) mathematical domains: arithmetic calculation and arithmetic word problems. Results: Significant differences were found in subitizing and estimation tasks. Both groups showed similar mathematical skills in arithmetic calculation and arithmetic word problems. For autistic students, several non-symbolic tasks predict performance in mathematical domains, whereas for non-autistic students, symbolic tasks were predictors. Discussion: Although mathematics does not seem to be an area of concern for autistic children, future studies should explore early numerical and mathematical domains in children with cognitive support needs through longitudinal research.

O objetivo deste trabalho consiste em realizar uma revisão teórica e crítica da aplicação dos conceitos de inclusão e qualidade de vida no âmbito da educação de pessoas com deficiência, como agentes de mudança. Para este fim, apresenta-se, resumidamente, a evolução da situação e os princípios educacionais na Espanha nos últimos anos. Em seguida são abordadas evidências sobre os progressos alcançados em matéria de educação inclusiva no país, bem como os paradoxos e os problemas encontrados na sua implementação pelos principais agentes implicados: alunos e alunas com deficiência, familiares e profissionais. Tais evidências ressaltam a necessidade de relançar a aplicação da verdadeira e correta implementação do processo inclusivo. Finalmente, defende-se o modelo de qualidade de vida como agente de mudança e inovação no âmbito escolar.

RESUMENLas condiciones que vive la población saharaui refugiada en la Hamada argelina hacen que vean privada su participación en sistemas sociales, sanitarios y económicos, generando situaciones de apartheid ocupacional. En el presente estudio se administró el cuestionario WHO-DAS 2.0 a un total de 33 personas saharauis con una media de edad de 39,30 años y residentes en diferentes wilayas de los campamentos de refugiados con el objetivo de conocer el nivel de salud y funcionamiento experimentado en los últimos treinta días en cuanto a la cognición, la movilidad, el cuidado personal, las relaciones sociales, las actividades de la vida diaria y la participación en comunidad. En general, los participantes mostraron dificultades de funcionamiento (WHO-DAS 2.0) en especial en su desempeño en las actividades de la vida diaria, así como una alta dificultad en su participación social a consecuencia tanto de su situación de deprivación y apartheid ocupacional en la que se encuentran desde hace más de cuarenta años debido tanto a su situación de refugiados como a los factores socio-políticos que ello conlleva, así como la total dependencia a la ayuda humanitaria para su subsistencia. De igual forma, el entorno y el contexto de la población saharaui cobra un especial interés en su participación en sus ocupaciones.For the English translation: Analysis of daily occupations and engagement in Sahrawi refugee camps see https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2021.1897964

Resumen La existencia de dificultades en la producción articulatoria o el uso funcional de sonidos/fonemas, con consecuencias variables en la inteligibilidad comunicativa, genera obstáculos en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje para los estudiantes de español como lengua adicional (ELE) que presentan Trastornos de los Sonidos del Habla (TSH). Esta situación puede influir de manera diversa en la comprensión y expresión lingüística, agregando una capa de complejidad al ámbito educativo. Por ello, este capítulo tiene como objetivos: (1) ayudar a comprender la sintomatología de los TSH mediante la descripción de sus diferentes alteraciones y manifestaciones; (2) describir cómo es el aprendizaje de la pronunciación del alumnado de ELE con TSH; y, por último, (3) ofrecer al profesorado pautas y modelos didácticos de cara a diseñar programas educativos adecuados y progresivos que se adapten a las necesidades de este alumnado.