Methodology for the professional preparation of the community defects specialist

Abstract

Introduction: the community defectologist is one of the fundamental professionals for the care of children with severe intellectual disabilities. In addition to offering their services, they must stay in tune with scientific advances in their area of knowledge to correctly solve professional problems. Objective: to offer a methodology for the preparation of the community defects specialist in the care of children with severe intellectual disabilities. Method: a qualitative study was carried out from January 2019 to December 2022 with the participation of the Universidad de Guantánamo and the Policlínico Universitario “Asdrúbal López Vázquez”. The universe was made up of defects specialists and managers of the aforementioned polyclinic. The intentional sample was made up of 40 defects specialists and 4 managers. The survey and participant observation were applied to obtain primary data. The variable professional preparation of the community defects specialist in the care of children with severe intellectual disabilities, its dimensions and indicators, was determined. Results: limitations were found in the theoretical-methodological conception of the professional preparation of the community defectologist in the care of the aforementioned disability and the undergraduate and postgraduate training plans of these professionals did not contemplate care training in the problem under study. The methodology containing training actions was applied, such as: course, workshops and self-preparation based on updating the topic. Conclusions: the methodology presented satisfies the theoretical-methodological limitations diagnosed, corroborated during the professional performance of the community defectologists, the socialization workshops and the criteria of the consulted specialists.