IDP Living Project - DEVELOPMENT OF A TRAINING PROGRAM FOR BOOSTING AND FACILITATING THE COMMUNITY LIVING OF PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

When we talk about People with Intellectual Disabilities, community’s still tend to have a more traditionalist and protective approach, but new Models, including Quality of Life, start the discussion in how we must direct to the abilities and full potential of the IDP’s and not to focus on their disabilities. With this in mind, the IDPLiving project has is background on the embodiment of The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that states they have the right to Living independently and being included in the community; with equal choices and opportunities to participate in their community. The objectivesof the IDPLiving project were: -To raise awareness and motivate the whole collective about the abilities of IDP’s; -Boost the evolution of IDP’s to Accommodation/Supporting housing and Full Independence,enhancing their quality of life; -Transfer guidelines about how to develop basic daily routines in the main contexts of life; -Transfer guidelines about how to exploit ICT tools that can be used as assistive technology; -Provide the trainees with real life experiences to apply the trained competences during and after the training course.

Year(s): 2017 - 2019

Target group(s): People with Intellectual Disability’s (IDP’s), their families and professionals

Website or other online channels: https://idpliving-platform.eu/en/home/

Methodology

One of the main approaches used and that had impact in the whole project was the co-creation and co-production processes, involving actively IDP's and responding to the main objective of the self-advocate movement “nothing for us, without us” and this meant actively to listen and ask the contributions of IDP's, to build a training program, that is driven by their priorities and needs.

The first product that was developed was a Methodological Guide with the direct participation of IDP's, families and professionals, through the realization of 2 Co-Created Sessions focused on determining the key contents of the training program, methodologies and ICT Tools needed for improving the competences of IDP's and their supports for increasing their Independent Living in the Community.

The second product developed were training materials, aiming to improve the critical competences of IDP's, relatives and professionals for facilitating the improvement of IDP's competences to deal and face daily life activities and therefore to enhance their Independent Living opportunities. The materials are diverse and can be face to face sessions, online sessions, and outdoor activities, with the resource of templates, games, APPS, videos and others.

The third product created were experimental training activities, n a form of a Manual for Trainers for enhancing the practical and experiential training of IDP's, relatives and professionals, using the training materials within real environments.

The last product was the creation of a training platform that allows free access of the training materials and a field to create courses, with the different modules developed and that can be adapted to the different profiles of IDP's

Type of product

Online resource Video clips / Films Course / Training

Brief description of the outcomes

IDP Living is a platform with ICT resources to support the understanding and implementation of training materials and experiential training activities for People with Intellectual Disabilities. Training materials are focused on 6 different topics (1: It’s my life; 2: Shared living; 3: I am going out; 4: The most beautiful house in the world; 5: I want to feel fine; and 6: Safe and healthy sexuality). It also contains a forum to introduce discussions and share experiences on this kind of topics.

Impact on target groups / Transferability potential

IDPLiving involves the direct participation of People with Intellectual Disability’s (IDP’s), their families and professionals, so that the entire program is being developed with their input and for the validation of the contents and all products.

Participants that had an active role during the project lifetime were: People with Intellectual Disabilities (a total of 58); - Families of IDP's (a total of 31 relatives)- Professionals (a total of 48).

The project was disseminated through several actions that addressed to the European collective related to IDP's and directly reached more than 5000 persons trough National and European events, Multiplier Events; indirectly reach much more trough publications and social networks, (e.g. flyer, Facebook, Youtube channel for the project, a website).

Results from the training pilot allowed to confirm that the quality indicators of the project where reach. Evaluation of global satisfaction was of 95% and Evaluation of acquisition of competences achieve a global value of 91%. Also, the partnershipbecame aware that other targets in disability field are very interested in accessing the training program developed

Promoter of the initiative: CERCIOEIRAS, CRL

Country: Portugal

Languages available: English

Website or other online channels: https://www.cercioeiras.pt/pt