Number 4 OCO FACT SHEET September 2000

Self-determination for students with significant disabilities

This fact sheet is designed to provide information on self-determination to teachers and other professionals involved in programs in post-secondary settings for students ages 18-21 with significant disabilities. The published materials highlighted in this fact sheet are those recommended by special educators working in the college campus or community programs across the state of Maryland. On-Campus Outreach is not specifically endorsing the products mentioned herein, but reporting their usage and recommendations from the teachers we support.

Definitions of Self-determination

It is not easy to give a definition of self-determination, as the term means different things to different people. In special education literature, the term self-determination is defined differently by many authors depending on their purpose. Here are a few examples of definitions:

Self-determination is "the attitudes, abilities, and skills that allow a person to define personal goals and to take initiative in reaching those goals" (Ward, 1988, p. 2).

Self-determination is "acting as the primary causal agent in one’s life and making choices and decisions regarding one’s quality of life free from undue external influence or interference"(Wehmeyer, 1996, p. 632).

These definitions may be helpful for researchers and teachers, but are a little bit abstract for students. When trying to define self-determination for students, keep it simple and straightforward. Here is an example of a basic definition of self-determination: Self-determination is knowing and doing what is right for me.

The basic elements of student self-determination
There are some basic skill areas that teachers can focus on to support the development of self-determined behaviors or actions in their students. These are:

• Self awareness and advocacy-what are my strengths, challenges, and preferences, and how do I get my needs met?
• Choice Making and Decision Making -what are my options? which match my needs? who do I tell?
• Goal Setting and attainment -What do I want to accomplish and how do I do it?
• Problem solving and evaluation-What should I do about this, how do I do it, how do I know if it worked?
• Relationships with others-How do I get my teachers and parents to trust my decisions?

Students need to be given opportunities to learn and practice their skills in these areas. Given frequent guided practice, eventually, students will learn to recognize situations in which these skills are needed, and be able to draw upon their previous experiences. Classroom and community-based activities are full of potential lessons on self-determined behavior.

What does self-determination have to do with transition?
Transition plans are to be based upon a student’s needs, interests, and preferences. Therefore, it is a teacher’s responsibility to help students learn to identify and express those needs, interests, and preferences. These skills are not only needed during IEP meetings, but also in home, work, school, and social settings.

All transition activities should be based on helping a student achieve a desired goal. Transition activities relate not only to outcomes in employment or education, but also to increasing a student’s ability to function in the world as an adult. Self-determination skills can be developed by encouraging students to reflect on their own behavior and emotions, both positive and negative, and helping them to do identify options in all realms of their life. Guiding students to make thoughtful decisions about their future will lead to more self-determined behavior.

Does self-determination mean that student must lead his or her IEP meeting?
Not necessarily. All students should be present at their IEP meetings and should be encouraged to participate to whatever extent they are able. Some students may do introductions, others may state a goal they would like to work on, and some students may lead a part of their IEP meeting. However, student-led IEP meetings are not synonymous with self-determination. Some of the curricula developed to support self-determination skills focus on increasing student involvement in IEP meetings, as this is a natural setting for decision-making and reflection about oneself (see the Resources section of this fact sheet for specific titles). Providing students with the skills to participate at any level in their planning meetings is helping them become more self-determined.

Do students need to know that they are learning self-determination skills?
Yes. Helping a student make a choice, recognize a skill, or evaluate a decision does promote self-determined behavior. However, if you are not letting that student know what he or she is doing, by labeling that behavior and pointing out when it is needed, he or she may not be able to repeat that behavior or recognize a similar situation when it arises. Give students specific praise when they set a goal, solve a problem, or express relevant knowledge about themselves. This will help them gain confidence in their abilities, and better recognize the types of skills you are teaching.

Why should I use my limited time to provide direct instruction of self-determination skills?
Self-determination skills are one of the most age-appropriate and functional skills you can provide to a young person with a disability. They, like all other students, will be faced with decision making and advocacy opportunities repeatedly in the adult world. The ability to know your own needs, strengths, and preferences and communicate them to others in choice making or problem solving situations are skills that are generalizable not only in school, but at home, at work, and in every social situation.

Though self-determination skills can be taught sporadically in almost any context, direct instruction of these skills is also important. If teachers devote a portion of their classroom time to self-determination, they will be more likely to provide students with the opportunity to practice those skills in everyday situations with support and guidance. Therefore, direct instruction is necessary not only for the students to learn the skills, but also for the teachers to remember to support the practice of those skills outside of the classroom.

Who should be involved in the development of self-determination skills in students?
The people involved in supporting the development of self-determined behavior in students with disabilities will vary depending on the situation. Certainly, the teacher and instructional support staff should be involved. If possible, inform parents of the types of activities you are working on, and ascertain the types of decisions they are willing to let their son or daughter make. You don’t want to set the student up for failure, by asking them to do something their parents will not allow. Involving parents will help to focus instructional activities on the areas of self-determination that are most generalizable in the student’s life. Also, discuss your goals with other staff members or employers with whom the student comes in contact. This will expand the number of environments in which he or she may have the opportunity to practice the skill they have been learning in the classroom. Be specific when asking others to help practice a skill you are working on by giving an example such as " Before Juan goes for his next job interview, have him practice telling you his strengths". By stating your goals clearly, parents and others will be more likely to follow through on your requests for assistance.

How does teaching self-determination skills affect the teacher?
Promoting self-determination impacts the teacher as well as the student. Teachers who want to help students be more self-determined must be flexible and patient. If students are provided with greater opportunities to make choices, it impacts a teacher’s ability to maintain control of the pacing and direction of some lessons. It may mean more time doing an activity, or it may mean a student makes a choice we don’t agree with. It does not mean the student always gets his or her way. But it means that we allow students to make choices and decision that let them learn more about themselves. Teachers must also:

• Transfer some responsibility and control to the student
• Respect student choices and opinions
• Allow time for learning and practice
• Expect and allow mistakes to occur
• Praise students for their efforts, even if their actions were not successful.

What resources are there to help me?
There are a variety of resources available on self-determination, far too many to list here. Textbooks, curricula, journal and research articles all are rich sources of information. For a complete list of all published material contact the Self-Determination Synthesis Project at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte by going to their website at: http://www.uncc.edu/sdsp/

Often, one curriculum does not meet the needs of all the students in a post-secondary program. To address this problem, teachers combine and adapt a variety of materials and supplement them with teacher-made materials. The following is a list of resources including texts and curricula that many teachers have used in some capacity to promote the development of self-determination in the students they teach.

References

Ward, M. J. (1988) The many facets of self-determination. NICHCY Transition Summary: The National Information Center for Children and Youth with Handicaps, 5, 2-3.

Wehmeyer, M. L., Kelchner, K., & Richards, S. (1996). Essential characteristics of self-determined behavior of individuals with mental retardation. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 100, 6, 632-642.

This OCO Fact Sheet was developed by Meg Grigal. For more information please write to: Sherril Moon & Debra Neubert, Co-Principal Investigators Meg Grigal, Project Director On-Campus Outreach, Department of Special Education, 1308 Benjamin Building, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 Visit our website: www.education.umd.edu/oco Email us at ocomail@umail.umd.edu.

On-Campus Outreach is funded by the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Grant # H324 R990032
Copyright © 2000 On-Campus Outreach, Department of Special Education, University of Maryland