People with intellectual disability lack opportunities to engage in sports, although the benefits of doing so may be even greater for them. One option is to encourage their inclusion in mainstream sports clubs that exist in nearly all European communities. Although there is a growing knowledge base within organisations such as Special Olympics in adjusting sports to meet the needs of people with intellectual disability, inclusion in community clubs raises additional challenges. This exploratory study aimed to garner the experiences of coaches alongside those of clubs members—with and without disabilities—in 12 community sports clubs in three European countries. In all 20 coaches and 51 members took part in semi-structured interviews. A thematic content analysis was used to devise a conceptual model describing an inclusive sports club. The overarching theme was that inclusive clubs require an ongoing balancing between a focus on sporting skills and performance, with managing the needs and characteristics of the players and the inter-relationships among them. Six subthemes were identified that described the core strategies to the effective functioning of the clubs. However, the vision and commitment of coaches was crucial and their recruitment was the main challenge the clubs faced. In addition, new opportunities for training coaches are needed to support the extension of inclusive clubs across a range of sports and locations. Continuing research could usefully identify the benefits to club members and identify sport-specific adaptations required to make clubs more fully inclusive.

Inclusive research has gained momentum internationally. However important critiques of this approach query whether inclusive research reinforces perceptions of deficit and contribute to exclusionary practices. This paper presents a reflection on the practices within an inclusive research group over the past decade, with a focus on decision making and support. The authors used thematic analysis to critically review minutes, workshop presentations and research reports. The findings indicate a shift in how the group works together; moving away from being guided by university supporters in the early years towards increased participation in decision making and ownership of the group’s agenda by self-advocates over time although balanced collaboration across all members continues to be challenging. The article explains how the inclusive approach used by the group enabled self-advocates to not only conduct research, but to also critically review their own work.

A great deal of research has been undertaken during the last few decades regarding the life experiences of young people with intellectual disabilities (ID). However, not much has specifically focused on the friendships of people with ID. This article aims to present the friendship experiences of young people with ID who are in their transition process to adult life. It focuses on their reflections on their own friendships, the presence these friendships have had and still have in their lives, and the strengths and difficulties –if any – in managing their friendships. 11 people aged 17–19 with ID were interviewed individually. This article also intends to identify and analyse those elements that have influenced in the establishment of friendships in the lives of young people with ID, focusing on the role that both professionals and families have had from the perspective of the young people with ID. It also presents the influence that the educational context has had on the friendships of young people with ID.

Background: The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) states that people have the right to decide where to live and with whom. Professionals play a key role in supporting processes for independent living (IL). This research aimed to identify which ideas generated more or less consensus among professionals regarding the role of different agents involved in the processes of IL in Spain. Method: The Delphi method was applied to an expert panel of 25 professionals. Results: A high consensus was reached regarding the role that people with intellectual disabilities, their families and their natural support networks play in supporting IL processes, but there was less consensus on the role played by organizations and professionals. Conclusions: The study highlights the need to promote practices that favour the decision-making capacity of individuals to move towards models of support based on community and the human rights model.

En nuestro contexto se han desarrollado escasas experiencias de investigación realizadas conjuntamente entre investigadores académicos e investigadores con discapacidad intelectual. Este artículo tiene como finalidad aportar una experiencia de investigación cualitativa sobre vida independiente y discapacidad, desarrollada por las autoras (investigadoras académicas) en colaboración con un Consejo Asesor integrado por personas con discapacidad intelectual. Se pretende, además de presentar el desarrollo y resultados de la investigación, explicar cómo se ha construido el proceso de colaboración entre los asesores y las investigadoras de la universidad a lo largo de las distintas fases del estudio. También se van a concretar las estrategias de apoyo que se han ofrecido a los asesores para plantear, finalmente, las reflexiones sobre los principales retos que conlleva avanzar en los procesos de investigación inclusiva. Con ello se pretende contribuir al avance de las investigaciones inclusivas en las que las personas con discapacidad tengan un protagonismo real en el estudio de los problemas que las afectan.