Som - Fundació

Som - Fundació (also known as Som - Fundació Catalana Tutelar) is a private, non-profit Catalan entity created on 26 March 1987 by the Associació Aspanias and formed by a group of parents, volunteers and professionals committed to the rights and interests of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Its mission is to ensure that these rights are respected and that the quality of life of the people it supports improves. The foundation is based in Barcelona and operates across Catalonia. The organisation provides legal advice and family guidance services for situations in which the parents of a person with a disability are still alive. When parents are no longer present, Som - Fundació exercises legal guardianship (tutela) over adults with intellectual disabilities, offering attention and follow-up in defence of their rights. It also works in the area of pretutela (pre-guardianship) and, more recently, in supported decision-making, promoting a shift from deciding for people to deciding with them. According to the Catalan Wikipedia, from 1992 — the year it assumed its first guardianships — to 2006, the number of people under its guardianship grew from 30 to 306. By 2012 it was guarding a total of 407 people and had a further 326 in a pre-guardianship regime. In 2007 it received the Creu de Sant Jordi, one of the highest distinctions awarded by the Generalitat de Catalunya. Today Som - Fundació continues to publish an annual report (memòria anual) and participates in European-level conferences, with its support model highlighted by Inclusion Europe. Its website describes it as an entity that cares for the quality of life of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities in Catalonia and supports them in making decisions.

Som - Fundació Catalana Tutelar was created on 26 March 1987 by the Associació Aspanias, together with a group of parents, volunteers and professionals sensitive to the rights and interests of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Its purpose was to watch over the respect of those rights and to improve the quality of life of the people concerned. The foundation initially offered legal advice and family guidance services for cases in which the parents of a person with a disability were still alive. When parents were absent, it took on the legal guardianship (tutela) of adults with intellectual disabilities, providing attention and follow-up in defence of their rights. In 1992 it assumed its first guardianships. Between 1992 and 2006, the number of people under its guardianship grew from 30 to 306. By 2012 it was guarding 407 people and had 326 more in a pre-guardianship (pretutela) regime. In 2007 the entity received the Creu de Sant Jordi, awarded by the Generalitat de Catalunya, in recognition of its social work. Over the years it has broadened its approach beyond traditional guardianship towards supported decision-making, promoting a shift from 'deciding for' to 'deciding with' the person. It has also engaged at the European level: in May 2026 it participated again in a European congress, and Inclusion Europe highlighted its support model. In June 2026 it published its 2025 annual report (memòria anual). In September 2026 its website reported on the approval of a new state regulation on cognitive accessibility, framing it as the consolidation of a right affecting millions of people.

• Foundation created by Associació Aspanias.

• Assumed its first guardianships (tuteles).

• Number of people under guardianship reached 306, up from 30 in 1992.

• Received the Creu de Sant Jordi.

• Guarding 407 people, with 326 more in pre-guardianship.

• Inclusion Europe highlighted its support model at a European congress.

• Published the 2025 annual report.

• Reported on the approval of the new state regulation on cognitive accessibility.

Non-profit foundation focused on rights, guardianship and supported decision-making for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Catalonia.

• Legal advice and family guidance

  Services for cases in which the parents of a person with a disability are still alive.

• Guardianship (tutela)

  Exercise of legal guardianship over adults with intellectual disabilities when parents are absent.

• Pre-guardianship (pretutela)

  Preparation and support before full guardianship is assumed.

• Supported decision-making

  Model promoting the shift from deciding for the person to deciding with the person.

1. 1Som Fundació official websitesomfundacio.org
2. 2Som - Fundació Catalana Tutelar - Viquipèdiaca.wikipedia.org
3. 3Wikidata Q20101862wikidata.org