Exploring the support needs of adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities in Chile.

Abstract

The paradigm of supports has come to transform practices in the field of intellectual disabilities, this in conjunction with the rights approach has brought with it the need to transform the practices of inclusion in this field. But how do we transform practices and spaces if we do not know in detail the support needs of people with intellectual disabilities? In Chile this is a reality that must be faced, although there are studies that have addressed the issue there is still much to be done. In this sense, the present work intends to show the main support needs of a group of 93 adults with IDD, for the research a convenience sampling was used, composed by 93 participants with ID between 18 and 39 years old (ME=28.3, SD=5.6), users of three associations of attention to disability in the Metropolitan Region and in the Valparaiso Region (Chile). To form the sample of people with ID, two inclusion criteria were established: (1) having a diagnosis of ID according to DSM-5 standards; and (2) being 18 years of age or older. Of the total sample, 46.2% had a severe degree of ID and the majority (86%) had a medium-low socioeconomic level. Information on people with ID was provided by 26 informants, of whom 11.5% were caregivers, 34.6% were educators, 34.6% were health professionals and 19.2% were nursing home support professionals. The main results do not show significant differences with respect to degree of ID, gender and socioeconomic level, however, it is necessary to advance in the need to reflect on specific strategies specifically with the population, most of which is at level III of Support Needs, which can be interpreted as a high level of support needs.