Family-centred early intervention: Comparing practitioners' actual and desired practices.

BACKGROUND: In Spain, as in other countries, there has been a deep and intense process of change towards the adoption and use of family-centred practices (FCPs) on early intervention (EI). Despite that several international organizations have recommended FCPs be embedded in EI services, researchers on this field have highlighted a recommendation-implementation gap, as well as the need to point investigation on practitioners and intervention variables involved. Consequently, our goals were to describe and compare the practitioners' appraisals on actual and desired practices in Spain and to explore the relationships between practitioners and intervention characteristics and the use of recommended practices. METHODS: A survey including practitioner and intervention characteristics measures was used to obtain data needed. The actual and desired practices were explored through the Family Orientation of Community and Agency Services Scale. The participants were 119 EI Spanish practitioners whose programmes were in the first stages of different FCP implementation projects. RESULTS: Practitioners reported actual practices to be less family centred than they would like, moderately in line with FCP. They reported desired practices as quite close to recommended practices. Intervention characteristics were related to actual practices, whereas practitioner characteristics were not. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the recommendation-implementation gap still exists in our context, as well as in other countries. Intervention characteristics seem to be one of the key elements significantly influencing actual practices, though additional research is needed. A comprehensive framework for implementation is needed to bridge the gap between recommendation practices and the use of these practices.

An integrative model of self-determination and related contextual variables in adolescents with and without disabilities.

Self-determination, as a person dispositional characteristic, is indeed influenced by situational characteristics that shape actions across contexts. Research has also reported differences in self-determination as a function of personal factors, but there is a need to integrate this knowledge in a general model aiming to analyse the impact of contextual variables in adolescents with and without disabilities. An integrative model of self-determination and related contextual factors was tested through a structural equation modelling approach. Participants were adolescents that reported their perceptions on self-determination dimensions and opportunities. Results indicated that educational and family contexts impacted self-determination and provided further understanding on self-determination dimensions' entity and function. Relevant implications for self-determination measure, comprehension and promotion derived from this study are discussed.

Family-centered practices and the parental well-being of young children with disabilities and developmental delay.

BACKGROUND: Research evidence from studies in North America on the relationships between family-centered practices, parents' self-efficacy beliefs, parenting confidence and competence beliefs, and parents' psychological well-being was used to confirm or disconfirm the same relationships in two studies in Spain. AIMS: The aim of Study 1 was to determine if results from studies in North America could be replicated in Spain and the aim of Study 2 was to determine if results from Study 1 could be replicated with a second sample of families in Spain. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A survey including the study measures was used to obtain data needed to evaluate the relationships among the variables of interest. The participants were 105 family members in Study 1 and 310 family members in Study 2 recruited from nine early childhood intervention programs. Structural equation modeling was used to test the direct and indirect effects of the study variables on parents' well-being. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Results showed that family-centered practices were directly related to both self-efficacy beliefs and parenting beliefs, and indirectly related to parents' psychological well-being mediated by belief appraisals. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: The pattern of results was similar to those reported in other studies of family-centered practices. Results indicated that the use of family-centered practices can have positive effects on parent well-being beyond that associated with different types of belief appraisals.

Impact of supports and partnership on family quality of life.

BACKGROUND: In recent decades, Family Quality of Life (FQOL) has emerged as a decisive construct, both to improve the living conditions of the families of people with disabilities and to assess the results on the services and supports that they receive. The aim of this research is to determine the perception of the families regarding their support needs, the quality of their partnerships with professionals, and their FQOL and then identify to what extent the supports of early childhood intervention centers have a positive impact on the families' FQOL while exploring whether the family-professional partnership has become a fundamental intervening factor of FQOL. METHOD: The participants were 202 families with children aged 0-6 with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We used the structural equation model to analyze the influence that the adequacy of the supports and the partnerships exerted on FQOL. RESULTS: The results indicate that the families have language and speech support needs for their children and information needs for themselves, and that they are mostly satisfied with their partnerships with the professionals and their FQOL. Our results also indicate that their degree of satisfaction with the support was a good predictor of FQOL and their ratings of partnership quality was a key factor interceding on this effect. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides professionals and public institutions with guidance when designing plans to improve early childhood intervention centers so the quality of life of these families and the progress of children with disabilities living in Spain become progressively stronger.

Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Self-Determination Inventory Student Self-Report: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.

Instruments to measure self-determination have only been available in the Spanish language to date, for adolescents with intellectual disability (ID). However, given the development of a new measure of self-determination for youth with and without disabilities, the Self-Determination Inventory, there is a need to adapt and validate this tool in the Spanish language so as to provide practitioners with a psychometrically strong measure of self-determination. This study provides evidence of reliability and validity of the Spanish version of the scale, empirically tested with a sample of 620 youth with and without disabilities in Spain. Specifically, validity was evidenced through structural equation modeling approaches, confirming the instrument adequacy to measure self-determination in Spanish speaking youth. Future lines of research are suggested.

Exploring the impact of disability on self-determination measurement.

BACKGROUND: Self-determination is a psychological construct that applies to both the general population and to individuals with disabilities that can be self-determined with adequate accommodations and opportunities. As the relevance of self-determination-related skills in life has been recently acknowledged, researchers have created a measure to assess self-determination in adolescents and young adults with and without disabilities. The Self-Determination Inventory: Student Report (Spanish interim version) is empirically being validated into Spanish. AIMS: As this scale is the first assessment addressed to all youth, further exploration of its psychometric properties is required to ensure the reliability of the self-determination measurement and gain further insight into the construct when applied to youth with and without disabilities. METHODS: More than 600 participants were asked to complete the scale. The impact of disability on the item response distributions across the dimensions of self-determination was explored. OUTCOMES: Differential item functioning (DIF) was found in only 5 of the scale's 45 items. Differences primary favored youth without disabilities. CONCLUSIONS: The weak presence of DIF across the items supports the instrument's psychometrical robustness when measuring self-determination in youth with and without disabilities and provides further understanding of the self-determination construct. Implications and future research directions are also discussed.

Assessing self-determination in youth with and without disabilities:l the spanish versión of the air self-determination scale / La evaluación de la autodeterminación en jóvenes con y sin discapacidad: la versión española de la escala de autodeterminación AIR

BACKGROUND: Acting in a self-determined manner, that is, using problem-solving or decision-making strategies, strongly depends on the opportunities the person is given to do so by the context. In fact, context can either facilitate or thwart the opportunities of adolescents and young adults for self-determined action, though there is, to date, a lack of instruments within the Spanish context to assess these opportunities. METHOD: This study aims to address this need by adapting and validating the AIR self-determination scale to the Spanish context with a sample of young Spanish people with and without disabilities. RESULTS: The results showed acceptable psychometric properties of validity and reliability, and stressed differences in school and home opportunities for developing self-determination depending on the presence or absence of disability. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish version of the AIR self-determination scale stands as a psychometrically robust instrument to assess capacities and opportunities for acting in a self-determined manner in all young people. Implications based on the differences in contextual opportunities arising from the presence of disability are also further discussed

ANTECEDENTES: actuar de forma autodeterminada, es decir, usando estrategias como la resolución de problemas o la toma de decisiones no solo depende de la persona que actúa. Si bien sabemos que el contexto puede ejercer como facilitador u obstaculizador de la acción de jóvenes y adolescentes, disponemos de pocos recursos, en contexto español, para su evaluación. MÉTODO: este estudio pretende dar respuesta a la escasez de recursos evaluativos que indagan en el papel que el contexto ejerce en el desarrollo de estas habilidades adaptando y validando la escala de autodeterminación AIR al contexto español en jóvenes con y sin discapacidad. RESULTADOS: los resultados muestran unas características psicométricas de fiabilidad y de validez aceptables, y señalan diferencias en las oportunidades de las que disponen los jóvenes para actuar, en contexto escolar y familiar, en función de la presencia, o no, de discapacidad. CONCLUSIONES: la versión española de la escala de autodeterminación AIR se erige como instrumento psicométricamente sólido para evaluar las capacidades y oportunidades para actuar de manera autodeterminada en todos los jóvenes. Se discuten también las implicaciones de las diferencias halladas en las oportunidades contextuales en función de la presencia de discapacidad

Assessing self-determination in youth with and without disabilities: The Spanish version of the AIR self-determination scale.

BACKGROUND: Acting in a self-determined manner, that is, using problem-solving or decision-making strategies, strongly depends on the opportunities the person is given to do so by the context. In fact, context can either facilitate or thwart the opportunities of adolescents and young adults for self-determined action, though there is, to date, a lack of instruments within the Spanish context to assess these opportunities. METHOD: This study aims to address this need by adapting and validating the AIR self-determination scale to the Spanish context with a sample of young Spanish people with and without disabilities. RESULTS: The results showed acceptable psychometric properties of validity and reliability, and stressed differences in school and home opportunities for developing self-determination depending on the presence or absence of disability. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish version of the AIR self-determination scale stands as a psychometrically robust instrument to assess capacities and opportunities for acting in a self-determined manner in all young people. Implications based on the differences in contextual opportunities arising from the presence of disability are also further discussed.

Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the family-centred practices scale for use with families of young children receiving early childhood intervention.

BACKGROUND: Early childhood intervention (ECI) centres in Spain recently initiated a process of change towards the adoption of family-centred practices (FCPs). Knowledge about the extent to which practitioners' use FCPs is needed. The psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the FCPs scale were examined. METHOD: A convenience sample of 105 families of children with developmental delays attending three different ECI centres in Spain completed the FCPs scale and provided information about the ECI centre characteristics and practices, caregiver self-efficacy beliefs, and family and child demographic information. RESULTS: The Spanish version of the FCP scale was found to be both reliable and valid. FCPs were correlated with self-efficacy beliefs, parents' involvement in their child's ECI program and family decision making. CONCLUSION: The FCP scale provides practitioners with useful information about their practices, but also has capacity-building consequences for families. The study is a first step for examining the use of FCPs in Spain.

Examining Measurement Invariance and Differences in Age Cohorts on the Supports Intensity Scale-Children's Version-Catalan Translation.

Data from 949 children and adolescents with intellectual disability ages 5 to 16 for whom the Supports Intensity Scale-Children's Version-Catalan Translation was completed was used, in combination with data from the U.S. standardization sample, to examine measurement invariance and latent differences in the Catalonian sample. Results suggest that the same set of items can be used to measure support needs across U.S. and Catalonia samples and that there are age-related differences in support needs in the Catalonia sample, particularly between children ages 5 to 10 and 11 to 16 years of age. This differs from findings with the U.S. sample, where differences were found in a greater number of age cohorts. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Self-Determination, Intellectual Disability, and Context: A Meta-Analytic Study.

The relation between self-determination and intellectual functioning is complex, as other contextual factors may also play significant roles in explaining variability in self-determination. This study used meta-analytic techniques to assess how self-determination measures vary between people with disabilities classified as having intellectual disability (ID) or not, and contextual variables that moderate this relation. The literature search yielded 16 eligible studies, whose variables of interest were coded and analyzed. The results showed that when comparing self-determination measures among disability classification groups, gender, disability label and race/ethnicity were associated with the effect size estimation. These findings empirically support the relevance of personal variables when understanding self-determination levels and their impact in the operational classification of ID.

How to implement the family-centered model in early intervention / Cómo implementar el modelo centrado en la familia en la intervención temprana

From the results of a research aimed at improving the quality of life of families with a child with intellectual disability, the purpose of this paper is to provide a methodology for the implementation of the family centered model in early childhood intervention centers in our country. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the collected data allow us to systematize the steps or stages that would be necessary to provide professionals and families in early intervention centers with useful tools to empower the families and to enhance the children's development. This article represents another step further from the proposals made by other researchers in other countries with different traditions and culture in the field of early intervention, and intends to reflect the characteristics of our country in terms of the history and the path of early intervention in recent decades (AU)

A partir de los resultados de una investigación encaminada a la mejora de la calidad de vida de las familias con un hijo o hija con discapacidad intelectual, el objetivo del presente trabajo es ofrecer una propuesta metodológica para la implementación del modelo centrado en la familia en los centros de atención temprana de nuestro país. Los análisis cuantitativos y cualitativos de los datos recogidos nos permiten sistematizar los pasos o fases que sería necesario seguir con el fin de proporcionar herramientas útiles a los profesionales y a las familias de los centros de atención temprana para promover el desarrollo de los niños y el empoderamiento de las familias. El artículo supone un paso adelante respecto a las propuestas realizadas por otros investigadores de otros países con tradiciones y cultura diferentes en el ámbito de la atención temprana y trata de recoger las características y la idiosincrasia de nuestro país en cuanto a la historia y la trayectoria de la atención temprana en las últimas décadas (AU)

Comparison between the Spanish and Catalan versions of the Supports Intensity Scale for Children (SIS-C) / Comparación entre las versiones en castellano y catalán de la Escala de Intensidad de Apoyos para niños y adolescentes (SIS-C)

BACKGROUND: The new socio-ecological model of disability directs attention to the importance of the environment in understanding individual functioning and promotes the provision of support from an early age. Following on from that thinking, the SIS-C (Supports Intensity Scale for Children) has been developed as an innovative assessment tool focused on designing individualized support plans. The aim of this study was to establish a comparison between the psychometric properties of the Spanish and Catalan versions of this scale. METHOD: The SIS-C allows us to assess the support needs of children (5-16 years old) with intellectual disabilities to fully participate in 61 daily activities within seven different contexts. The Spanish version was administered to 814 participants and the Catalan version to 949. RESULTS: Findings show that both versions have adequate psychometric properties, such as high levels of internal consistency and criterion validity. In terms of scale structure, adjustment indices derived from factor analysis showed that both versions reproduced a correlational model composed of seven factors better than unidimensional or hierarchical models. CONCLUSIONS: Although the Spanish version of the scale showed better statistical indices, both versions are similarly suitable for accurately assessing the support needs of this population

ANTECEDENTES: la nueva concepción socioecológica de la discapacidad centra su mirada en la importancia del entorno para comprender el funcionamiento individual y promueve la provisión de apoyos desde edades tempranas. Surge así la SIS-C (Supports Intensity Scale for Children) como herramienta de evaluación innovadora para diseñar planes de apoyo personalizados. El objetivo del presente estudio consistió en establecer una comparación entre las propiedades psicométricas de las versiones castellana y catalana de esta escala. MÉTODO: la SIS-C permite evaluar las necesidades de apoyo de niños y adolescentes (5-16 años) con discapacidad intelectual para participar satisfactoriamente en 61 actividades diarias desarrolladas en siete contextos diferentes. La versión castellana fue administrada a 814 participantes y la catalana a 949. RESULTADOS: los datos reflejan que ambas versiones poseen adecuadas propiedades psicométricas, obteniéndose elevados índices de consistencia interna y validez. En relación a su estructura, los índices de ajuste derivados de los análisis factoriales realizados mostraron que las dos versiones reproducen mejor un modelo correlacional de siete factores que un modelo unidimensional o de segundo orden. CONCLUSIONES: aunque estadísticamente la versión castellana de la escala presentó mejores datos, ambas versiones lingüísticas obtuvieron resultados similares para evaluar adecuadamente las necesidades de apoyo de esta población

Comparison between the spanish and catalan versions of the Supports Intensity Scale for Children (SIS-C).

BACKGROUND: The new socio-ecological model of disability directs attention to the importance of the environment in understanding individual functioning and promotes the provision of support from an early age. Following on from that thinking, the SIS-C (Supports Intensity Scale for Children) has been developed as an innovative assessment tool focused on designing individualized support plans. The aim of this study was to establish a comparison between the psychometric properties of the Spanish and Catalan versions of this scale. METHOD: The SIS-C allows us to assess the support needs of children (5-16 years old) with intellectual disabilities to fully participate in 61 daily activities within seven different contexts. The Spanish version was administered to 814 participants and the Catalan version to 949. RESULTS: Findings show that both versions have adequate psychometric properties, such as high levels of internal consistency and criterion validity. In terms of scale structure, adjustment indices derived from factor analysis showed that both versions reproduced a correlational model composed of seven factors better than unidimensional or hierarchical models. CONCLUSIONS: Although the Spanish version of the scale showed better statistical indices, both versions are similarly suitable for accurately assessing the support needs of this population.

A Structural Equation Model of the relationship between physical activity and quality of life / Modelo de Ecuaciones Estructurales para el estudio de la relación entre actividad física y calidad de vida

Background/Objective: Literature shows that practicing physical activity improves the general health and quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities. However, there is little empirical research on the specific benefits physical activity provides and to what extent these benefits occur. The goal of this study was to examine the impact of perceptions of physical activity and the individualized support on each of eight quality of life-related domains and three higher-order quality of life factors. Method: The sample consisted of adults with intellectual disability (n = 529), their assigned professionals (n = 522), and a family member (n = 462). Most participants attended day and residential services, and we applied the Personal Outcomes Scale and the Support Needs and Strategies for Physical Activity Scale to all of them. Results: The structural model parameter estimation showed high values, especially for the factor of well-being. These data allowed us to confirm that perceptions of physical and individualized supports in the field of physical activity act as predictors of quality of life improvement. Conclusions: The results suggest that organizations devoted to enhancing personal outcomes should include physical activity in their programs, and revise both their own services and the use of physical activity resources available in the community (AU)

Antecedentes/Objetivo: Practicar actividad física mejora la salud general y la calidad de vida de las personas con discapacidades intelectuales. Existe poca investigación sobre los beneficios específicos de la actividad física y hasta qué punto se dan. El objetivo de este estudio es examinar el impacto de las percepciones sobre la actividad física y el apoyo individualizado sobre los dominios que definen calidad de vida. Método: La muestra se compuso de 529 adultos con discapacidad intelectual, sus profesionales de referencia (n = 522) y un familiar (n = 462). La mayoría de los participantes asistían a servicios de día y residenciales, y se les aplicó la Escala de Resultados Personales y la Escala de Necesidades de Apoyo y Estrategias para la Actividad Física. Resultados: Se propone un modelo estructural para analizar la relación entre constructos que mostró valores altos, sobre todo para el factor del bienestar. Así, las percepciones sobre la actividad física y los apoyos individualizados en el campo de la actividad física actúan como predictores de la mejora de la calidad de vida. Conclusiones: Se sugiere que las organizaciones dedicadas a mejorar los resultados personales deberían incluir la actividad física en sus programas comunitarios (AU)

The Physical Activity Support Needs and Strategies Scale: Its Development and Use.

People with intellectual disability (ID) engage in insufficient physical activity which negatively affects their health. In accordance with the present conception of ID and the supports paradigm, the current study aimed to develop and psychometrically assess an instrument examining the support needs and strategies regarding physical activity by using individuals with ID (n = 529), service providers (n = 522), and family members (n = 462) as information sources. The analysis revealed adequate reliability for the proposed instrument, with α values between .70 and .80, and adequate construct validity for the versions of the scale for the 3 information sources, particularly for service providers. The assessment information can be included in Individualized Support Plans and could be used to design and implement the strategies for facilitating a person's physical activity in their community.

A Structural Equation Model of the relationship between physical activity and quality of life.

Background/Objective: Literature shows that practicing physical activity improves the general health and quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities. However, there is little empirical research on the specific benefits physical activity provides and to what extent these benefits occur. The goal of this study was to examine the impact of perceptions of physical activity and the individualized support on each of eight quality of life-related domains and three higher-order quality of life factors. Method: The sample consisted of adults with intellectual disability (n = 529), their assigned professionals (n = 522), and a family member (n = 462). Most participants attended day and residential services, and we applied the Personal Outcomes Scale and the Support Needs and Strategies for Physical Activity Scale to all of them. Results: The structural model parameter estimation showed high values, especially for the factor of well-being. These data allowed us to confirm that perceptions of physical and individualized supports in the field of physical activity act as predictors of quality of life improvement. Conclusions: The results suggest that organizations devoted to enhancing personal outcomes should include physical activity in their programs, and revise both their own services and the use of physical activity resources available in the community.

Antecedentes/Objetivo: Practicar actividad física mejora la salud general y la calidad de vida de las personas con discapacidades intelectuales. Existe poca investigación sobre los beneficios específicos de la actividad física y hasta qué punto se dan. El objetivo de este estudio es examinar el impacto de las percepciones sobre la actividad física y el apoyo individualizado sobre los dominios que definen calidad de vida. Método: La muestra se compuso de 529 adultos con discapacidad intelectual, sus profesionales de referencia (n = 522) y un familiar (n = 462). La mayoría de los participantes asistían a servicios de día y residenciales, y se les aplicó la Escala de Resultados Personales y la Escala de Necesidades de Apoyo y Estrategias para la Actividad Física. Resultados: Se propone un modelo estructural para analizar la relación entre constructos que mostró valores altos, sobre todo para el factor del bienestar. Así, las percepciones sobre la actividad física y los apoyos individualizados en el campo de la actividad física actúan como predictores de la mejora de la calidad de vida. Conclusiones: Se sugiere que las organizaciones dedicadas a mejorar los resultados personales deberían incluir la actividad física en sus programas comunitarios.

Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Personal Outcomes Scale / Propiedades psicométricas de la Versión Española de la Escala de Resultados Personales

Personal outcomes-related quality of life provides information about the impact of individualized supports and services that are provided to people with intellectual disability. The Personal Outcomes Scale (POS) is a valid and reliable instrument that measures these outcomes using two parts, self-report and report by others. Based on the POS, the aim of this study is to provide a new psychometric study of the instrument that allows the evaluation of the three principal informers involved in the enhancement of individual's quality of life: individual with intellectual disability, professional and family member. This approach overcomes the limitations of the POS. For the self-report were involved 529 people with intellectual disability. A professional (N = 522) and a family member (N = 462) separately participated for the report by others versions to assess personal outcomes for each participant. The reliability study provides appropriate values for the first and second order factors with α values being higher than .82. The construct validity analysis provides an adjustment of the theoretical model, particularly regarding the assessments from professionals. Results show this instrument is adequate to evaluate personal outcomes and giving the guidelines for making policy and practice decisions (AU)

Los resultados personales relacionados con la calidad de vida aportan información sobre el impacto de los apoyos individualizados y servicios ofrecidos a las personas con discapacidad intelectual. La Escala de Resultados Personales (ERP) es un instrumento válido y fiable que evalúa estos resultados en base a dos partes, el autoinforme y el informe de los otros. Basándonos en la ERP, el objetivo es ofrecer un nuevo estudio psicométrico de este instrumento contemplando la participación de los tres informadores implicados en la mejora de la calidad de vida: la persona con discapacidad intelectual, el profesional y un miembro de la familia. Esta aproximación supera los límites de la ERP. Para el autoinforme han participado 529 personas con discapacidad intelectual. El profesional (N = 522) y el miembro de la familia (N = 462) han participado separadamente en las versiones correspondientes. El estudio de fiabilidad aporta valores apropiados para los factores de primer y segundo orden (α ≥ .82). El análisis de la validez de constructo se ajusta al modelo teórico, particularmente en los profesionales. Según los resultados, este instrumento es adecuado para evaluar resultados personales y aportar información válida para las prácticas profesionales y las políticas sociales (AU)