Self-Determination and Transition Planning

by
Karrie A. Shogren, Ph.D.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

What Is Self-Determination and Why Does It Matter in Transition?

Transition is kind of a huge deal. So when we planned his transition to adulthood, we were doing a move, a change of schools, and a change of jobs all at once. We decided up front that self-determination was going to be an integral part of the transition process. We set everything up so Michael could make choices and everything would be done with his interests and preferences in mind. We went slowly; first we just did weekends at the new location. When we actually made the move, we took him to the new school, he started his new job, and we noticed almost no behavior problems! When we had transitions in the past, like going from elementary to middle school, we’ve had no sleep, screaming, and aggression. But, this transition was different because we built in Michael’s self-determination. We focused on his choices and preferences, even his preference for going slowly. After we made the move, there were still so many changes, but he was fine. He was able to handle all of them; I think that’s the power of self-determination.
(Kay— Michael’s mom, personal communication, June 5, 2012)

I have made my decision. It was a very difficult decision and after several tries to get the words out of my mouth to make such a big announcement, I decided to go through with the surgery and I will most likely have it in early to mid-June. It was pretty grown up of me to make such a huge decision, probably the hardest I’ve made in my life. I thought that I would focus on my education and finish my senior year in high school, get my diploma, and then have the operation because of my dedication to school. Making a decision like this really reminded me of the self-determination PowerPoint and how we talked about self-determination and decision making.
(Jake, personal communication, February 21, 2010)

Promoting student self-determination is a critical part of effective transition services (Field, Martin, Miller, Ward, & Wehmeyer, 1998b; Hasazi et al., 2005; Test, Fowler, et al., 2009). The opening quotes demonstrate that self-determination can make a real difference in the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families. Kay, whose son Michael has multiple disabilities and is receiving community-based services focused on employment, highlights how self-determination enables Michael to exert control over his world, have his preferences respected, and experience the quality of life that he desires. His family plays a key role in creating an environment that supports his self-determination. Jake, a young man with high-functioning autism who made the transition from his neighborhood high school to a local community college, describes how learning about self-determination allowed him to make adult decisions, particularly about a needed operation on his foot and figuring out when and how to schedule this operation so it did not conflict with his last semester of high school. He had to problem-solve, weigh the pros and cons of the different options, and make a decision. He used a number of skills that are central to self-determined behavior, skills he learned throughout his life while learning about self-determination.
Although most of us would personally and professionally agree that self-determination is important, we would probably also agree that it can be difficult to figure out how to support the students we work with to become self-determining. Jake and Michael are both self-determined young men, but they express their self-determination in different ways and need different supports from their families and friends. Each student we work with is unique; they each have their own profile of strengths and support needs. Plus, there are so many demands on our time and so many things that are important to teach.
This book provides strategies to make self-determination more meaningful and accessible for students with disabilities. It focuses on 1) clarifying the definition of self-determination and what it can mean to students with disabilities (Chapter 1), 2) identifying strategies to individualize self-determination instruction (Chapter 2), 3) identifying strategies to teach skills associated with self-determination (Chapters 3– 6), 4) creating opportunities for expressing self-determination (Chapter 7), 5) building supports for self-determination (Chapter 8), and 6) promoting self-determination in the systems in which we work (Chapter 9). Research-based information on how to promote self-determination is blended with real stories from the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families. The stories of Michael and Jake, who were featured in the chapter’s opening quotes, are followed throughout the book. Each of these individuals has been supported to develop self-determination skills and to use these skills to achieve the lives that they want. Illustrations from their lives are used to show how this has worked. Other students, parents, and professionals are heard from throughout the book to understand the real-world application of self-determination, showing that teaching self-determination skills and creating opportunities for students to practice the skills can happen for all students, regardless of their support needs (see Chapter 2).
It is all about ensuring that the research-validated practices that professionals and people with disabilities and their families acknowledge are important are actually implemented in practice. The Evidence-Based Practice, Clinical Judgment, and Values research box talks about the importance of evidence-based practice that takes into account research, professional wisdom, and student and family values.

Definition of Self-Determination in Special Education

Although it may seem like self-determination is always a topic of discussion when we are talking about the transition to adult life, the idea of self-determination for students with disabilities is relatively new in the special education field. It was only in the 1990s and early 2000s that significant attention was devoted to the need to support students with disabilities to become self-determining to promote positive adult outcomes. An explosion of writing on self-determination has occurred since that time. For example, Wood and Test (2001) reviewed the literature on self-determination at the turn of the century and found that more than 800 resources, including 450 peer-reviewed articles on self-determination, were published between 1972 and 2000, with most of this literature published in the 1990s. Imagine how many more books and articles have been published since the turn of the 21st century.

Evidence-Based Practice, Clinical Judgment, and Values

A review of evidence-based practice definitions reveals a common thread: Practices should be supported by rigorous scientific research and consistently lead to positive outcomes. A debate exists in the field regarding the definition of rigorous scientific research. Some groups have emphasized specific types of research designs (e.g., the importance of randomized control trials), whereas others have emphasized that diverse research designs can contribute to identifying evidence-based practices.

There seems to be a growing consensus, however, that a variety of research designs can contribute to the knowledge of evidence-based practice as long as the design allows for an evaluation of the degree to which an instructional practice caused a change in a student outcome. This can include group and quasi-experimental designs as well as single-subject designs. Cook and Cook (2011) highlighted the importance of the 1) research design, 2) quality of research studies, 3) quantity of research studies, and 4) magnitude of effect. There should essentially be a sufficient number of high-quality studies that use research designs that can document a relationship between an instructional practice such as self-determination and a student outcome. Furthermore, the effect of the instructional practice should be of sufficient magnitude to make a difference in the lives of students and their families.

Seek out instructional practices that have research to support their impact on outcomes when working with individual students to promote self-determination. But remember that research studies are not the only thing that goes into evidence-based practice. The American Psychological Association’s Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice defined evidence-based practice as the “integration of the best available research with clinical expertise in the context of patient characteristics, culture and preferences.” Consider professional wisdom and knowledge of student characteristics, family preferences, and culture to select the most appropriate intervention. Also, data must be collected to document that practices are effective with individual students. Numerous factors should be considered in promoting positive outcomes.

What Is Self-Determination?

Self-determination is a combination of skills, knowledge, and beliefs that enable a person to engage in goal-directed, self-regulated, autonomous behavior. An understanding of one’s strengths and limitations, together with a belief of oneself as capable and effective are essential to self-determination. When acting on the basis of these skills and attitudes, individuals have greater ability to take control of their lives and assume the role of successful adults in our society.

Functional Theory of Self-Determination

Wehmeyer introduced the functional theory of self-determination, one of the most cited definitional frameworks for self-determination. Wehmeyer argued that self-determination cannot simply be defined as a set of behaviors because almost any behavior can be used to exert control over one’s life. He instead stated that self-determination has to be defined by the function of a person’s actions or behaviors. He specifically said that self-determination is “volitional actions that enable one to act as the primary causal agent in one’s life and to maintain or improve one’s quality of life.” Although this definition might seem complex, breaking down the three key aspects of the definition makes it easy to see how self-determination is relevant for students with disabilities.

1. Volitional actions: Volitional action is purposeful and has a specific intent. Students who are self-determined are being purposeful and acting as a causal agent over their lives.
2. Quality of life: Quality of life is about the hopes and dreams people have for their lives. Researchers have identified key domains of quality of life that include emotional well-being, interpersonal relations, material well-being, personal development, physical well-being, self-determination, social inclusion, and rights. Each person’s hopes and dreams for their quality of life are influenced by personal characteristics and environmental factors.

Self-determination is acting with intent to improve one’s quality of life, and these actions are essential. The purpose of self-determined behavior is for people to act to achieve their hopes and dreams for their lives. Self-determination develops over time as students develop the skills and attitudes associated with self-determination. Supports and accommodations are critical to developing and expressing self-determined behavior. Repeated opportunities and appropriate supports are critical for growing self-determination skills. These opportunities and supports will look different as students with disabilities age.

Culture and Self-Determination

Culture is not the same as categorical labels (e.g., Caucasian, Hispanic, African American), but instead is shaped by multiple factors, including gender, disability, race/ethnicity, language, and socioeconomic background. There is a small but growing body of research that examines the influence of culture on self-determination. The Self-Determination and Culture research summarizes key findings from this body of research that inform our thinking about supporting students from diverse backgrounds to be self-determining.