Apoio à família e formação parental

 

MARIA TERESA BRANDÃO COUTINHO (*)

 

 

RESUMO

Enquadrado nos modelos mais actualizados, em termos de Intervenção Precoce, o envolvimento activo dos pais, no processo de intervenção com os seus filhos, surge como uma forma inequívoca de potenciar e maximizar o desenvolvimento da criança. Pese embora o facto de tais modelos apontarem para as necessidades de colaboração estreita e nivelamento das relações entre pais e profissionais (através do estabelecimento de parcerias), tal só acontecerá, de facto, se os pais melhorarem o seu nível de informação, sobre temáticas relacionadas com a saúde, desenvolvimento e aprendizagem do seu filho. A criação deste tipo de oportunidades parece-nos extremamente útil e importante para os pais, permitindo-lhes sentirem-se mais informados, e eventualmente, mais competentes, em matérias que lhes interessam particularmente (não ficando determinados tipos de informação na posse exclusiva dos técnicos).

Os Programas de Formação de Pais surgem como uma excelente oportunidade de melhorar os níveis de informação e as competências educativas parentais, surgindo em vários estudos, associados a resultados bastantes positivos relativamente ao desempenho da função parental. Procedemos ao enquadramento conceptual e caracterização de um programa de formação destinado a pais de crianças com Trissomia 21 com idades compreendidas entre os 6 meses e os 5 anos, desenvolvido e aplicado na região de Lisboa.

Palavras-chave: Formação parental, intervenção precoce, Síndroma de Down.

 

 

ABSTRACT

Framed in the most up-to-date models of Early Intervention, the active involvement of parents in the process of intervention with their children is seen as an important way of maximising child development. Even though these models emphasise the need for close collaboration and levelling of relationships between parents and professionals (through the creation of partnerships), this will only actually happen if and when parents are given more information about issues related to the health, development and learning process of their child (so that certain types of information are not exclusive to professionals). We consider that this is extremely useful and important for parents, allowing them to feel more informed and, eventually, more competent in matters which are particularly relevant to them.

Programmes of parent training are an excellent opportunity to increase and improve parents' level of knowledge and their parental educational competences, and they appear in several studies, usually associated with very positive results in terms of performance of parental functions. Therefore, we present a characterisation of a training programme aimed at parents of children with Down syndrome aged between 6 months and 5 years, undertaken in the Lisbon region.

Key words: Parental training, early intervention, Down Syndrome.

 

 

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(*) Departamento de Educação Especial e Reabilitação da Faculdade de Motricidade Humana da Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Estrada da Costa, 1495-688 Cruz Quebrada.