Adaptation Strategies in Students with Motor Functional Diversity.

Objectives: The work sough to know the adaptation strategies of students from Universidad del Quindío with motor functional diversity.

Methods: Descriptive qualitative study with a phenomenological approach. Data were collected through an in-depth interview with nine undergraduate students with moderate motor functional diversity, in face-to-face class attendance modality during the period 2022-2 at Universidad del Quindío (Colombia) with age ≥ 18 years and having scored from 20 - 40 in the Barthel index. The definition of the number of participants was conducted through theoretical saturation.

Results: Seven categories emerged from the descriptive analysis of the interviews: 1) support; 2) affection; 3) life project; 4) personal growth; 5) spirituality; 6) autonomy, and 7) education. Together, they reveal important aspects on the way students have adapted to the university campus and how interpersonal relations can contribute to promoting resilience processes.

Conclusions: Support and affection provided by the social setting play a fundamental role in the adaptation of students with motor functional diversity, improving their mental health, generating resilience, and increasing their self-esteem. Noting that in spite of lifestyle changes after the acquisition of the diversity, the students set novel goals and develop new abilities that contribute to complying with their life project; likewise, they have set into practice and can recognize their coping mechanisms, acquiring qualities, like resilience and autonomy.