Category 1. Support

The participants expressed that support is the fundamental base for their process of adaptation to the diversity; therein arises the importance of this category: They play the primordial role, they have it, my family, they are the ones that drive me; you have to do this; we will do this this way; better we do it this way (Martha).

Manifestation of support. Regarding manifestations of support, three settings are often named - social, family, and sentimental, which they consider their “caregivers”: That month I was in crutches, I stayed at my partner’s house, so it was like everyone kept raising my self-esteem, so I went out a lot, even if I was on crutches I felt that I could do what I did before (Emily). In addition, they emphasize that the best manifestation of support is that people take the time to learn to recognize their need for care and know how to help without seeing them with pity or shame: Feeling completely accepted without feeling regret, because some people feel sorry for you, like what a pity; it does more for me to be treated like a normal person, so that makes me feel better, it diminishes my anxiety (Antonia).

Professional support. During the interviews, two professions were mentioned that influenced their adaptation process; the first is psychology, which contributed to their mental health: The psychologist helped a lot, she also helped me clean, so she told me, every time you talk about your accident, you're cleaning because the brain is not storing the information, but you are freeing yourself (Milagros). The second profession, and the most named was nursing, which played a fundamental role in mental and physical health, being those who provided companionship mainly during the hospital stay: A nurse, I remember a lot, she was from the city of Pasto, she gave me a loom, it was on tiptoe, and she gave me the wool and I did not move my hands, she told me… and I still keep it, after 11 years … look, this loom will be good for you, not only to move your hands, it will also help you generate income because you won’t have much, so here I give you this beginning of the process, so enjoy it and I brought the loom with me (Emily); and: A nurse who always put effort, so every day there were exercises and exercises every day, until the moment when I was able to start walking, given the very interest that person delivered and I started to develop my activity and my normal life (Martín).

Category 2. Affection

Participants described that on the moment of acquiring the diversity, one of the strategies that helped them most in their adaptation process and resilience were the affection provided by the family and social nucleus: I feel happy; I feel that wherever I go, I always find affection from many people and I feel that this journey has not been in vain (Martha).

Demonstrations of love. With respect to manifestations of affection by loved ones, the participants report that these are a pillar to face difficult moments during the rehabilitation and adaptation process: They are a fundamental part because they help you a lot emotionally because it helps to improve yourself as a person and at the moment, they help you to have the strength to face all situations, situations that if you were alone you could have bad thoughts or take bad actions by not having that support (Antonia).

Own feelings/emotions. Feelings are identified as a process, where their initial phase shows a series of negative emotions and frustration: At the beginning, it is difficult, right?, difficult to accept; you get angry with the world; you don’t want to go out, that happened to me, I don't know if many of us are afraid that people will see us in a wheelchair or with our conditions, acceptance is very difficult (Emily). However, when developing a proper adaptation process, we evidence that feelings return to a more positive vision, where their greatest characteristic is resilience and empowerment: I am always thinking positively, I won't say that I'm the happiest, I get up and I never think about problems, that is, I have my difficulties and my things like anyone else has, but I don't think, like on my limitations, no (Federico). In addition, during the interviews gratitude to life was highlighted for allowing them to once again develop certain activities, thus, evidencing their enthusiasm to live as fully as possible: I enjoy everything that I can now do, if I have to make coffee, I love doing it because I can move my hands again, I can feel the sensation of drinking it; in a hospital bed I could not do it, so that new opportunity has made me appreciate everything more, everything I am doing again (Emily).

Category 3. Life project

This category lets us understand that the individual is a unique being, with defined goals and established dreams, thus, leading the participants to develop resilience to face the change of their life project: Things are more difficult and complex, but you can adapt to those changes, to those obstacles and difficulties, you can continue your project and your goals (Martín); I changed 100% because before I was an athlete, I was in athletics, I was in the gym, I had already taken courses to be a coach, I was going to start working as a physical trainer and from there the goal was to keep climbing, but then, everything crumbled (Eric); and, For me to say that I have not met my objectives, I don't think so, because I am now studying, I work for an entity that I am an example, I’m in a university where when they see me go by, I am also an example, so I am achieving the objectives I want, I am in a place I like to be in, with my work and I am doing my therapy, everything is well balanced, yes, the objectives changed because of my capacities, they are taking a little longer, but I think I'm already fulfilling them and it's never too late to do what you want (Antonia).

Change in lifestyle. The entire population refers to a change in lifestyle; among the most-mentioned aspects there are education, work, and economic field: I was going to my job, an ordinary girl who studied, worked, normal from home to work, well, normal, and then you can realize how life changes you, in a second - not in minutes - but in seconds (Emily); At first, it was very difficult because when you acquire a diversity you stop working or, for example, in my case that I was working and looking after my son, so you say, how will I live? and you know the state cannot have those types of subsidies, because they don’t exist, there is nothing specific that supports the person with a disability (Martha).

Category 4. Personal growth

Regarding personal growth, it was a transformation process of sorts, which implies some obstacles, mostly, with ourselves, considering the most important, self-knowledge and many times to unlearn what is known: A personal decision of each one, to face what it is like, as a person physically, as well as the conditions that you have and that is what makes you change your - navigation - route (Javier).

Experience of diversity. All the participants acquired the motor functional diversity between the youth and adulthood life cycles due to multiple causes: I had a car accident when entering the city of Pereira, I fractured the head of the femur in my left leg, I had surgery in which they placed three cannulated titanium screws (Federico). There was a fight in the bus, but it was not with me, a claim made by a user with another and in that discrepancy, a stray bullet lodged in the part of the neck, it affected this whole side, then my head was left to one side, I was left with a diagnosis of quadriplegia, the diagnosis itself was not good, I could only communicate through my eyes because the air I had for my lungs I had to reserve for breathing and to make my body function, the jaw got locked to chew, drink, swallow; I had to start from zero (Emily).

Life teaching. With respect to this subcategory, the participants reported being more empathetic with the types of diversities, being more aware of what you have and had at the time and of your own meaning in life: I believe each day is a lesson and it is a staging, so to speak, to teach me about the situations; in this term, it is to demonstrate through your position and your actions everything that can be done (Martín); A lesson that you can never take anything for granted, there is always something more that can be done, any adversity helps you to realize that from each individual’s mistakes and strengths, for example in my case, I wasn't very attentive to my family, I always called them about everything, but I always had other priorities, on a Saturday party, Sunday with friends, during the week, so family was not a priority for me, rather I have priorities that just give me momentary happiness (Eric).

Category 5. Spirituality

With respect to spirituality, most of the participants considered that having some type of belief establishes a bond of hope; the following is a story that encompasses most of the feelings and emotions they experienced at the time of acquiring diversity: You believe in the giving God, the loving one or many times the opposite, it happened to me that when the accident happened to me, I fought with God and I said to God, “why did you send me something this hard”?, if I am a good person, I don’t go out; my brother was the crazy one in the house, he would stay out all night and I was the good girl, I would say “God, but why did you send me this? Until one day I came back from an MRI, which they had done about a month later and I cried a lot. In the MRI, I mentally asked God to clarify the situation, right? It was very nice because in my room in the hospital room, people came from all the regions you wanted; it was strange, the Catholic, the Christian, the Evangelical went, they were people that I didn't even know, that is, I was amazed. I would say somehow God was talking to me through those people, so I said, no, I won’t fight with Him anymore, I will accept the situation, I will follow spirituality (Emily).

Category 6. Autonomy

Autonomy is, thus, intertwined with the freedom our participants have to decide on any aspect of their lives: I decided to do absolutely nothing based on the others, I live my normal life. Obviously, it is much more complicated because I use a walker and some splints to move, I mean, I have to exert more force, everything is more complicated, but I prefer complexity than comfort (Eric). Nevertheless, those interviewed report that often these decisions may be affected as they cannot develop independently and require support: You are going to face processes where they are going to tell you to sit down, at the beginning of the process and you are not going to be able to sit down, or they are going to tell you, as in my case, that I was not going to move anymore, they had to do everything for me, grasping something; I have a problem with my hands, it's not very noticeable, but I couldn't hold anything, absolutely nothing, that is, my hands were shaking, the weight of anything was very difficult, but I always mentalized myself that I had to little by little get over it and not think about my diagnosis (Emily).

Category 7. Education

According to what was stated by the interviewees, it is a right that in the population with motor functional diversity is still violated by multiple barriers of access and permanence: What happens is that for us there is more difficulty, starting with transportation, starting with job opportunities, with education, it's more difficult, it's a little more difficult, so things take a little bit longer. (Martha). The university’s facilities have many areas where, for example, ramps are needed; on a physical level, more part of inclusion and on an educational level it is very general and the capabilities of each person are not taken into account (Milagros).

Inclusive-education strategies. During the entire interview, the participants described multiple strategies that could be implemented within the university campus, which would potentially help the adaptation and permanence of students with motor functional diversity: All the strategies that can be used, whether they are sound, visual, expectation and motivation campaigns; I think they all work. What happens is that it is a process that does not happen overnight, it has to be accompanied by other processes, as well as family members, educational processes in institutions, social processes where one develops in other activities (Martín). I ask the university to have strategies; they have technology, internet, many devices, so promote virtual classes, when we cannot attend for something serious, give us the opportunity, because many teachers do not understand, it is a struggle, so they should take more into account that if we do not go it is not because we do not want to, but because of health, it is complicated for us (Martha).

Visibility. The participants consider that when talking about this theme, the multiple problems faced by the population with functional diversity are being made visible, given that there is segregation and, to eliminate these injustices, it would be necessary to make visible, normalize and value the capacities and skills of those with diversity: I believe that this, what you are doing is an issue that will leave the university with a process that they have to start implementing in some other way (Federico). I would think that it would be very good if inclusive education was promoted more, I would really like more people to study so that children who come with different conditions, have the dreams of looking at people, because they identify, achieve those dreams, yes? and to keep fighting, because that motivates, helps them grow and thank you for those spaces because how nice, how nice that you, as students, are empathetic, dream of a different, diverse, capable university; I like it, how good, how beautiful and I congratulate you for making this more enjoyable (Joaquín).

Advice. Finally, during the interview, the participants were asked to provide some advice for future students to manage to adapt to the university campus in order to complete their academic process: At the beginning, focus on what recovery is, focus a lot, and as one acquires skills and can develop academic life, then progress little by little and not get too saturated (Antonia). That they do not see their limitation as a barrier, as not an impediment, suddenly it is a barrier, in many things, in its literal form, but they do not see it as an impediment to developing their life project, because people with disabilities can do it, we can all finish the career, we can have an important life, we can have an important role in society, we can have a family, friends, children; it can be done, that they do not focus on the fact of having a limitation because that's it, you don't have to think about the hand but about what I can reach (Joaquín); and, To always look for a way to cope with everything, that there are always possibilities of absolutely nothing being done, one always has to do it, so it doesn't matter if you tell me it can't be done, why can't it be done? There will always be a way to achieve what you want as long as you want everything is achievable, there is no big or small obstacle, there are simply potholes that you always have to find a way to overcome and nothing else (Eric).