The associations for disabled people in Italy: a pedagogical exploration

This article offers an overview on the studies and researches carried out by the writer on the Italian phenomenon of associations for disabled and their families through an historical- sociological analysis on one hand and a pedagogical one on the other. The survey highlights the role of advocacy carried out by the associations since they were established and their public contribution to determining the historical and political events that, beginning in the 70’s, have distinguished the Italian method for educational and social integration. What emerges is how the family associations have contributed to the civic development and to the social-political change of the entire country. The pedagogical approach to the associationistic phenomenon becomes part of the cultural process of parenting valorisation and allows overcoming prejudices that literature, with a sociological and psychodynamic matrix, had generated on the conditions of the families with a disabled member. The fundamental contribution of the associations is understood by this both for the reorganisation of services for the person and for the realization of reception, relational enrichment, cultural and organisational stimulation concerning the development and promotion of the integration process for disabled people. Starting with the needs of the latter, the role of the person promoting citizenship and innovator for the entire society seems equally obvious but it remains that, more recently, the associationistic phenomenon is facing a moment of evolution of its internal organization related to the changes in recent welfare policies that impose further investigations and consideration.