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One of the most important challenges that early intervention (EI) has faced in recent years is the transition process from child-based practices to family-centered programmes. This study's main objectives were: (a) To understand the changes identified by the staff in their professional knowledge and practices with families during the transition from a center-based programmes to family-centered practices; (b) To explore the parents' satisfaction with the family-centered practices; (c) To know how professionals perceive the transition from center-based to family-centered practices in EI. Participants were 11 families of children with intellectual disability and 11 professionals from six early intervention centres in Spain. Results showed that professionals valued family-centered services because it allowed them to gather relevant information about the families' strengths and resources. Families perceived their participation as a real empowerment for all family members and positive for their children. Implications for professional practice in EI are discussed.

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.

Background: 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. Method: 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. Results: Both FQoL scales were consistent and have valid psychometric characteristics. Conclusions: The scales have a diagnostic purpose for use in designing action plans aimed at producing significant changes in families' lives.

Background: In Spain, as in other countries, there has been a deep and intense process of change towards the adoption and use of family‐centred practices (FCPs) on early intervention (EI). Despite that several international organizations have recommended FCPs be embedded in EI services, researchers on this field have highlighted a recommendation–implementation gap, as well as the need to point investigation on practitioners and intervention variables involved. Consequently, our goals were to describe and compare the practitioners' appraisals on actual and desired practices in Spain and to explore the relationships between practitioners and intervention characteristics and the use of recommended practices. Methods: A survey including practitioner and intervention characteristics measures was used to obtain data needed. The actual and desired practices were explored through the Family Orientation of Community and Agency Services Scale. The participants were 119 EI Spanish practitioners whose programmes were in the first stages of different FCP implementation projects. Results: Practitioners reported actual practices to be less family centred than they would like, moderately in line with FCP. They reported desired practices as quite close to recommended practices. Intervention characteristics were related to actual practices, whereas practitioner characteristics were not. Conclusions: The results suggest that the recommendation–implementation gap still exists in our context, as well as in other countries. Intervention characteristics seem to be one of the key elements significantly influencing actual practices, though additional research is needed. A comprehensive framework for implementation is needed to bridge the gap between recommendation practices and the use of these practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]