Ftima Forreta

PhD student in Education, area of expertise: adult training

Education Institute, University of Lison
mforreta!campus"ul"pt
Language of the presentation: Portuguese
E depois da escola? Percursos de transio para a vida adulta de pessoas
classifcadas com defcincia intelectual
1
School, then what? Pathways for transition to adulthood of individuals
classifed as havin intellectual disa!ility
"!stract#
The aim of this proposal is the presentation of an in progress PhD research that
expects to contribute to the knowledge of the several paths of transition to adulthood of
a group of individuals whom, at some point in their lives, were classified as having a
lower than average intellectual capacity. .
onceptually !uxtaposing youth and intellectual disabilities, this discussion intends
to illustrate the "life worlds# $Pais, %&&'( of young people and adults who haven#t been
born with a known condition of disability were at some point in their lives faced with a
diagnosis of intellectual disability, mostly for failing to achieve the standards of
compulsory schooling. )ccordingly we speak of socially constructed intellectual
disability.
)ssuming that youth is a passage to adulthood, the transition from school to work is
of particular relevance to economic independence, presenting itself as one of the classic
markers of adult status. *n regard to young people with intellectual disabilities,
literature stresses existing conditions of life which makes them more vulnerable and
may constrain their emancipatory processes. *n addition to the more common issues
such as significant limitations in intellectual skills and adaptive behaviour and
marginali+ation, we seek to understand how individuals with intellectual disabilities see
themselves as a deviant category and how the opportunity and sociability become
conditioned.
,nder the methodological framework "life course# this paper seeks to understand the
influence of structural and cultural changes in the processes of individual transition.
*t seeks as well to understand how biographical events such as having been classified
with intellectual disabilities, having completed or not compulsory schooling, having
attend a vocational rehabilitation and having entered in the labour market contribute to
the transition to adult status.
Keywords: intellectual disability, youth, life course.
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#hesis oriented y PhD $atlia %lves &IE UL' and PhD %na $unes de %lmeida &I()
UL'