A day with INEFC students turns people with cerebral palsy and multiple disabilities into protagonists of learning and contributes to a more inclusive and reality-oriented view of adapted physical activity
The users of the Aspace Montjuic Residential Care Service and Day Centre have once again demonstrated that their experience is an essential source of knowledge for future professionals in adapted physical activity. In a day shared with 4th year students of the Degree in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences at INEFC, and in accordance with our person-centred care model, they played a leading role, sharing their experience, guiding exercises and showing, first-hand, how adapted physical activity contributes to maintaining and improving functional capacity, quality of life and personal autonomy,
This experience allows students to get closer to a reality that is difficult to understand in the classroom alone . Direct contact with people with complex neurodevelopmental disorders, cerebral palsy and multiple disabilities helps them better understand the adaptations, supports and strategies necessary to guarantee accessible, safe and person-centered sports practice.
When experience becomes knowledge
The central moment of the day came when the users of the Aspace Catalunya Foundation became guides for the university students . Through exercises related to strength, endurance or gait pattern, they shared knowledge acquired from their own experience and showed how appropriate adaptations can make a difference in sports practice.
In practice, this means understanding that behind each exercise there are different needs, capacities and objectives. For students, experiencing this reality directly allows them to acquire tools to develop a more personalized, respectful and adjusted intervention to highly complex contexts.
Shared learning that breaks stereotypes
The day also contributes to transforming the way people view disability. Participants do not attend as recipients of an activity, but as active agents who share knowledge and experience with future professionals.
This role change reinforces the recognition of their abilities and highlights their contribution to building a more inclusive society. At the same time, it helps students incorporate a closer, more human and realistic perspective on adapted physical activity and functional diversity.
An alliance that strengthens the Aspace Catalunya model
The collaboration between Aspace Catalunya and INEFC consolidates a shared learning space where people become protagonists of the training process. This initiative is part of Aspace's comprehensive care model, which promotes decision-making capacity, connection with the environment and participation in community life.
Through experiences like this, the Aspace Catalunya Foundation continues to promote opportunities that make visible the capacities of people with high vulnerability and fragility , reinforcing their role as active agents of social transformation and contributing to training professionals better prepared to respond to highly complex contexts.
