The Complex Issue of Transition to Adult Life for Youth with Intellectual Disabilities: Views from the Parents

Journal title EDUCATION SCIENCES AND SOCIETY
Author/s Mariachiara Feresin, Elena Bortolotti
Publishing Year 2024 Issue 2024/1
Language Italian Pages 16 P. 244-259 File size 0 KB
DOI 10.3280/ess1-2024oa17433
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Transitions, or the obligatory passages between the developmental phases of life, open up an important question mark for young people with intellectual disabilities (ID) who are preparing to finish secondary school. The dilemma regarding the Life Project opens up, to this end the rights affirmed at international and national levels must be guaranteed through coordinated services which must be present and organized with a planning perspective. The objectives of this research are to detect the needs of parents and young adults with ID during and after the transition to adulthood, analyzing their experiences and the factors that impact to it. The results show that the transition period is characterized by disorientation, lack of knowledge and information, lack of trained personnel and job placement is still a mirage for most. Parental agency represents a turning point but sometimes it is not enough. Unfortunately, it is often "luck" that determines the fate of young people with ID. From the analysis of families' needs, reflections emerge for the construction of guidance tools to support young people with ID and their families. 

Keywords: ; Transition; intellectual disability; Life Project; Adulthood

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Mariachiara Feresin, Elena Bortolotti, La complessa questione della transizione alla vita adulta per i giovani con disabilità intellettiva: le prospettive dei genitori in "EDUCATION SCIENCES AND SOCIETY" 1/2024, pp 244-259, DOI: 10.3280/ess1-2024oa17433