Joana Mas - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Joana Mas

Research paper thumbnail of Education of people with intellectual disabilities and hearing impairments in Spain: A historical approach

Research paper thumbnail of Spanish Family Quality of Life Scales

Research paper thumbnail of The Adaptation Process of Families With Children With Intellectual Disabilities in Catalonia

Infants & Young Children, 2016

The most important adaptation task that all families must undertake is the construction of a sust... more The most important adaptation task that all families must undertake is the construction of a sustainable, meaningful, and congruent daily routine of family life (R. Gallimore, T. Weisner, L. Bernheimer, D. Guthrie, & K. Nihira, 1993). The aim of this mixed-method study was to understand, from the perspective of parents, how families adapt their family routines to rearing a 3-to 5-year-old child with intellectual or developmental disabilities to guarantee a sustainable family routine. Accordingly, this study focused on accommodations-changes that parents make or do not make because of the child's disabilities; ecological and cultural elements explaining why parents make or do not make a specific accommodation; and the sustainability of the family routine. Eighteen families with a preschooler who attended an early intervention center in Catalonia, Spain, participated in interviews and completed a series of questionnaires. The main instrument used was the Ecocultural Family Interview adapted for the Catalonian context. Results show the importance of different cultural and ecological elements in the family's accommodation processes, such as parents' jobs, services for the child, perceived support, information, and-especially-the need for professionals (and researchers) to understand family adaptation in terms of the importance of building a sustainable family routine.

Research paper thumbnail of La evaluación de la calidad en los centros de educación especial : una prueba piloto

En: Siglo cero Madrid 2004, v. 35 (1), n. 210 ; p. 37-44 Analiza y propone enfoques e instrumento... more En: Siglo cero Madrid 2004, v. 35 (1), n. 210 ; p. 37-44 Analiza y propone enfoques e instrumentos de evaluación sobre la calidad de ciertas prácticas en los centros de educación especial, con el objetivo de que sirvan de ayuda para su mejora, para iniciar cambios de perspectiva así como para conseguir que los alumnos reciban una educación ajustada a sus necesidades y con el mayor grado de excelencia, p. 44

Research paper thumbnail of Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the family-centred practices scale for use with families of young children receiving early childhood intervention

Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 2018

Early childhood intervention (ECI) centres in Spain recently initiated a process of change toward... more Early childhood intervention (ECI) centres in Spain recently initiated a process of change towards the adoption of family-centred practices (FCPs). Knowledge about the extent to which practitioners' use FCPs is needed. The psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the FCPs scale were examined. A convenience sample of 105 families of children with developmental delays attending three different ECI centres in Spain completed the FCPs scale and provided information about the ECI centre characteristics and practices, caregiver self-efficacy beliefs, and family and child demographic information. The Spanish version of the FCP scale was found to be both reliable and valid. FCPs were correlated with self-efficacy beliefs, parents' involvement in their child's ECI program and family decision making. The FCP scale provides practitioners with useful information about their practices, but also has capacity-building consequences for families. The study is a first step for examining the use of FCPs in Spain.

Research paper thumbnail of Early Intervention in Catalonia

This paper describes the evolution of early intervention (EI) in Catalonia until its present day.... more This paper describes the evolution of early intervention (EI) in Catalonia until its present day. The first attempts were established in the early seventies by interdisciplinary teams trying to improve the development of children with disabilities with an understanding that it was crucial to intervene as early as possible. Nowadays, EI in Catalonia consists of a well-established public network of Early Intervention Centres with specific catchment areas responsible for preventing, detecting, treating and monitoring children (and their families) with disorders in their development. The article provides an accurate description of the process that families with children with developmental delay follow from the time they discover a problem in their child’s development until they reach the Child Development and Early Intervention Centre. To this end, the article is divided into two parts. The first takes a brief look at the history of the legislation regarding EI in Catalonia, while the s...

Research paper thumbnail of Relationships between family-centred practices and parent involvement in early childhood intervention

European Journal of Special Needs Education, 2020

Findings from two studies investigating the relationships between two types of family-centred pra... more Findings from two studies investigating the relationships between two types of family-centred practices (relational and participatory) and parent involvement in early childhood intervention are des...

Research paper thumbnail of Family Quality of Life for Families in Early Intervention in Spain

Journal of Early Intervention, 2016

Early intervention (EI) has been shown to be an essential resource for meeting the needs and prio... more Early intervention (EI) has been shown to be an essential resource for meeting the needs and priorities of children with intellectual and developmental disability and their families. The objective of this study was to examine (a) the perceived quality of life of families attending EI centers in Spain and (b) its relationship with characteristics of the children and their families. The Family Quality of Life Scale was administered to a sample of 281 families with children aged 0 to 6 years attending an EI center. To determine the relationship between family quality of life (FQoL) and the family and children’s characteristics, Student’s t test and one-way ANOVA were performed. Likewise, effect size was measured in those groups. The results show that the emotional well-being of families was high, although they were concerned about health and financial well-being. The perceived FQoL varies depending on income, family type, and severity of the child’s disability. Implications for professional practice in EI centers are presented.

Research paper thumbnail of Family-Centered Practices Scale--Spanish Version

Research paper thumbnail of Family‐centred early intervention: Comparing practitioners' actual and desired practices

Child: Care, Health and Development

Research paper thumbnail of The Spanish Family Quality of Life Scales under and over 18 Years Old: Psychometric Properties and Families’ Perceptions

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Background: Family quality of life (FQoL), just like individual quality of life, has become a pri... more Background: Family quality of life (FQoL), just like individual quality of life, has become a priority outcome in the policies and services received by persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families. Conceptualizing, measuring, and theorizing FQoL has been the object of investigation in recent decades. The goal of this paper is to present a revision of the Spanish Family Quality of Life Scales, the CdVF-E < 18 and the CdVF-E >18, and describe the FQoL of Spanish families with a member with IDD. Methods: The sample included a total of 548 families with a member under 18 years old and 657 families with a member over 18. Based on an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) firstly and a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) secondly, the two scales’ psychometric properties were explored. Results: The CdVF-ER < 18 and the CdVF-ER > 18 comprise 5 dimensions, containing 35 and 32 items, respectively, and they show good validity and reliability. The fam...

Research paper thumbnail of Family-centered practices and the parental well-being of young children with disabilities and developmental delay

Research in Developmental Disabilities

Research paper thumbnail of The transition process from center-based programmes to family-centered practices in Spain: a multiple case study

Early Child Development and Care

Research paper thumbnail of Early Intervention in Catalonia

International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education

Research paper thumbnail of Impact of supports and partnership on family quality of life

Research in Developmental Disabilities

Research paper thumbnail of Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the family-centred practices scale for use with families of young children receiving early childhood intervention

Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARID, Jan 13, 2018

Early childhood intervention (ECI) centres in Spain recently initiated a process of change toward... more Early childhood intervention (ECI) centres in Spain recently initiated a process of change towards the adoption of family-centred practices (FCPs). Knowledge about the extent to which practitioners' use FCPs is needed. The psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the FCPs scale were examined. A convenience sample of 105 families of children with developmental delays attending three different ECI centres in Spain completed the FCPs scale and provided information about the ECI centre characteristics and practices, caregiver self-efficacy beliefs, and family and child demographic information. The Spanish version of the FCP scale was found to be both reliable and valid. FCPs were correlated with self-efficacy beliefs, parents' involvement in their child's ECI program and family decision making. The FCP scale provides practitioners with useful information about their practices, but also has capacity-building consequences for families. The study is a first step for ex...

Research paper thumbnail of Prevalence and Risk Markers of Challenging Behavior Among Children with Disabilities

Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Research paper thumbnail of Spanish Family Quality of Life Scales: Under and over 18 years old

Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 2013

Researchers, professionals, and families have shown increasing concern with the family quality of... more Researchers, professionals, and families have shown increasing concern with the family quality of life (FQoL) of people with intellectual disability (ID) and their families. The goals of this research were (a) to explore how Spanish families understand FQoL by developing 2 different measurement tools for families with a member with ID under and over 18 years old, and (b) to provide 2 diagnostic instruments that will be useful for designing action plans. The study comprised 4 stages: (a) focus groups, (b) expert assessment, (c) pilot study, and (d) normalisation and standardisation. The data were collected in 5 regions in Spain, and 1,205 families with a member with ID took part in the normalisation and standardisation of the scales. Both FQoL scales were consistent and have valid psychometric characteristics. The scales have a diagnostic purpose for use in designing action plans aimed at producing significant changes in families&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; lives.

Research paper thumbnail of Education of people with intellectual disabilities and hearing impairments in Spain: A historical approach

Research paper thumbnail of Spanish Family Quality of Life Scales

Research paper thumbnail of The Adaptation Process of Families With Children With Intellectual Disabilities in Catalonia

Infants & Young Children, 2016

The most important adaptation task that all families must undertake is the construction of a sust... more The most important adaptation task that all families must undertake is the construction of a sustainable, meaningful, and congruent daily routine of family life (R. Gallimore, T. Weisner, L. Bernheimer, D. Guthrie, & K. Nihira, 1993). The aim of this mixed-method study was to understand, from the perspective of parents, how families adapt their family routines to rearing a 3-to 5-year-old child with intellectual or developmental disabilities to guarantee a sustainable family routine. Accordingly, this study focused on accommodations-changes that parents make or do not make because of the child's disabilities; ecological and cultural elements explaining why parents make or do not make a specific accommodation; and the sustainability of the family routine. Eighteen families with a preschooler who attended an early intervention center in Catalonia, Spain, participated in interviews and completed a series of questionnaires. The main instrument used was the Ecocultural Family Interview adapted for the Catalonian context. Results show the importance of different cultural and ecological elements in the family's accommodation processes, such as parents' jobs, services for the child, perceived support, information, and-especially-the need for professionals (and researchers) to understand family adaptation in terms of the importance of building a sustainable family routine.

Research paper thumbnail of La evaluación de la calidad en los centros de educación especial : una prueba piloto

En: Siglo cero Madrid 2004, v. 35 (1), n. 210 ; p. 37-44 Analiza y propone enfoques e instrumento... more En: Siglo cero Madrid 2004, v. 35 (1), n. 210 ; p. 37-44 Analiza y propone enfoques e instrumentos de evaluación sobre la calidad de ciertas prácticas en los centros de educación especial, con el objetivo de que sirvan de ayuda para su mejora, para iniciar cambios de perspectiva así como para conseguir que los alumnos reciban una educación ajustada a sus necesidades y con el mayor grado de excelencia, p. 44

Research paper thumbnail of Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the family-centred practices scale for use with families of young children receiving early childhood intervention

Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 2018

Early childhood intervention (ECI) centres in Spain recently initiated a process of change toward... more Early childhood intervention (ECI) centres in Spain recently initiated a process of change towards the adoption of family-centred practices (FCPs). Knowledge about the extent to which practitioners&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; use FCPs is needed. The psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the FCPs scale were examined. A convenience sample of 105 families of children with developmental delays attending three different ECI centres in Spain completed the FCPs scale and provided information about the ECI centre characteristics and practices, caregiver self-efficacy beliefs, and family and child demographic information. The Spanish version of the FCP scale was found to be both reliable and valid. FCPs were correlated with self-efficacy beliefs, parents&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; involvement in their child&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s ECI program and family decision making. The FCP scale provides practitioners with useful information about their practices, but also has capacity-building consequences for families. The study is a first step for examining the use of FCPs in Spain.

Research paper thumbnail of Early Intervention in Catalonia

This paper describes the evolution of early intervention (EI) in Catalonia until its present day.... more This paper describes the evolution of early intervention (EI) in Catalonia until its present day. The first attempts were established in the early seventies by interdisciplinary teams trying to improve the development of children with disabilities with an understanding that it was crucial to intervene as early as possible. Nowadays, EI in Catalonia consists of a well-established public network of Early Intervention Centres with specific catchment areas responsible for preventing, detecting, treating and monitoring children (and their families) with disorders in their development. The article provides an accurate description of the process that families with children with developmental delay follow from the time they discover a problem in their child’s development until they reach the Child Development and Early Intervention Centre. To this end, the article is divided into two parts. The first takes a brief look at the history of the legislation regarding EI in Catalonia, while the s...

Research paper thumbnail of Relationships between family-centred practices and parent involvement in early childhood intervention

European Journal of Special Needs Education, 2020

Findings from two studies investigating the relationships between two types of family-centred pra... more Findings from two studies investigating the relationships between two types of family-centred practices (relational and participatory) and parent involvement in early childhood intervention are des...

Research paper thumbnail of Family Quality of Life for Families in Early Intervention in Spain

Journal of Early Intervention, 2016

Early intervention (EI) has been shown to be an essential resource for meeting the needs and prio... more Early intervention (EI) has been shown to be an essential resource for meeting the needs and priorities of children with intellectual and developmental disability and their families. The objective of this study was to examine (a) the perceived quality of life of families attending EI centers in Spain and (b) its relationship with characteristics of the children and their families. The Family Quality of Life Scale was administered to a sample of 281 families with children aged 0 to 6 years attending an EI center. To determine the relationship between family quality of life (FQoL) and the family and children’s characteristics, Student’s t test and one-way ANOVA were performed. Likewise, effect size was measured in those groups. The results show that the emotional well-being of families was high, although they were concerned about health and financial well-being. The perceived FQoL varies depending on income, family type, and severity of the child’s disability. Implications for professional practice in EI centers are presented.

Research paper thumbnail of Family-Centered Practices Scale--Spanish Version

Research paper thumbnail of Family‐centred early intervention: Comparing practitioners' actual and desired practices

Child: Care, Health and Development

Research paper thumbnail of The Spanish Family Quality of Life Scales under and over 18 Years Old: Psychometric Properties and Families’ Perceptions

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Background: Family quality of life (FQoL), just like individual quality of life, has become a pri... more Background: Family quality of life (FQoL), just like individual quality of life, has become a priority outcome in the policies and services received by persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families. Conceptualizing, measuring, and theorizing FQoL has been the object of investigation in recent decades. The goal of this paper is to present a revision of the Spanish Family Quality of Life Scales, the CdVF-E < 18 and the CdVF-E >18, and describe the FQoL of Spanish families with a member with IDD. Methods: The sample included a total of 548 families with a member under 18 years old and 657 families with a member over 18. Based on an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) firstly and a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) secondly, the two scales’ psychometric properties were explored. Results: The CdVF-ER < 18 and the CdVF-ER > 18 comprise 5 dimensions, containing 35 and 32 items, respectively, and they show good validity and reliability. The fam...

Research paper thumbnail of Family-centered practices and the parental well-being of young children with disabilities and developmental delay

Research in Developmental Disabilities

Research paper thumbnail of The transition process from center-based programmes to family-centered practices in Spain: a multiple case study

Early Child Development and Care

Research paper thumbnail of Early Intervention in Catalonia

International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education

Research paper thumbnail of Impact of supports and partnership on family quality of life

Research in Developmental Disabilities

Research paper thumbnail of Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the family-centred practices scale for use with families of young children receiving early childhood intervention

Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARID, Jan 13, 2018

Early childhood intervention (ECI) centres in Spain recently initiated a process of change toward... more Early childhood intervention (ECI) centres in Spain recently initiated a process of change towards the adoption of family-centred practices (FCPs). Knowledge about the extent to which practitioners' use FCPs is needed. The psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the FCPs scale were examined. A convenience sample of 105 families of children with developmental delays attending three different ECI centres in Spain completed the FCPs scale and provided information about the ECI centre characteristics and practices, caregiver self-efficacy beliefs, and family and child demographic information. The Spanish version of the FCP scale was found to be both reliable and valid. FCPs were correlated with self-efficacy beliefs, parents' involvement in their child's ECI program and family decision making. The FCP scale provides practitioners with useful information about their practices, but also has capacity-building consequences for families. The study is a first step for ex...

Research paper thumbnail of Prevalence and Risk Markers of Challenging Behavior Among Children with Disabilities

Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Research paper thumbnail of Spanish Family Quality of Life Scales: Under and over 18 years old

Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 2013

Researchers, professionals, and families have shown increasing concern with the family quality of... more Researchers, professionals, and families have shown increasing concern with the family quality of life (FQoL) of people with intellectual disability (ID) and their families. The goals of this research were (a) to explore how Spanish families understand FQoL by developing 2 different measurement tools for families with a member with ID under and over 18 years old, and (b) to provide 2 diagnostic instruments that will be useful for designing action plans. The study comprised 4 stages: (a) focus groups, (b) expert assessment, (c) pilot study, and (d) normalisation and standardisation. The data were collected in 5 regions in Spain, and 1,205 families with a member with ID took part in the normalisation and standardisation of the scales. Both FQoL scales were consistent and have valid psychometric characteristics. The scales have a diagnostic purpose for use in designing action plans aimed at producing significant changes in families&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; lives.