The promotion of self-determination in adults with intellectual disabilities: the state of the art and the research progress

Abstract

The importance that the self-determination construct has in people with intellectual disabilities’ life projects is the main paradigm of reflection of this paper. The most significant criticalities, identified by the scientific literature of reference, within the application of the construct in people with disabilities, push the author of this work towards the consideration of which are the operative modalities that are able to promote the construct. For this reason, an international overview is carried out of the most cited published reviews, meta-analyses and syntheses of research concerning programs, interventions, strategies, and activities that the studies identify as being able to implement the construct. In line with the current challenges of special pedagogy, we are outlining some
of self-determination’s implementation hypotheses, in order to offer to people with intellectual disabilities the necessary opportunities to properly enter into the adulthood route.