“I’d like to, I wouldn’t like to, but if you want to”. Promoting selfdetermination among people with disabilities: the voices of the young people at Cascina San Vincenzo

Abstract

This contribution addresses the contemporary debate on the quality of educational contexts for individuals with autism spectrum disorder, with the aim of exploring how educational practices can support participation, inclusion, and selfdetermination within everyday life contexts. Although the literature on selfdetermination in people with disabilities has significantly expanded in recent years, the subjective perspectives of children, adolescents, and young adults with autism regarding the educational environments they attend remain underexplored, particularly within the Italian context.
The study is based on an exploratory investigation conducted in 2024–2025 at Cascina San Vincenzo, an autism centre in Northern Italy (Monza and Brianza area), and focuses on the lived experiences of children, adolescents, and young adults attending the service. Data were collected through an accessible questionnaire adapted from the TCSA framework and complemented by qualitative interviews with a subgroup of participants. Participants’ perceptions were adopted as an interpretative lens to examine the relationship between educational intentionality, professional mediation, opportunities for participation, and experiences of selfdetermination within the educational context.
The findings highlight the emergence of developmental trajectories that consolidate over time, particularly in relation to inclusion, perceived support, and socialisation, with significant differences associated with age and length of attendance. In particular, the socialisation dimension emerged as the only area showing statistically significant differences according to the KruskalWallis test. The results underline the role of pedagogical continuity, structured routines, and educational mediation in fostering contexts that support meaningful participation and selfdetermination.
Despite the exploratory nature of the study and the methodological limitations related to the small sample size and the single educational setting, the contribution offers useful pedagogical reflections on the quality of educational services for people with autism spectrum disorder. From this perspective, the study contributes to rethinking pedagogical action as a situated and relational process, emphasising the importance of educational practices that recognise subjectivity and promote authentic opportunities for participation and selfdetermination within inclusive life pathways.