Self-determination -- A life-span perspective

Self-determination is a construct involving causal agency and perceived indepen-dence, usually associated with transition to adulthood and adult abilities. However, some proponents conceptualize self-determination as a life-span approach (Abery & Stancliffe, 2003; Abery & Zajac, 1996; Sands & Wehmeyer, 1996). Viewing self-determination as a lifelong process can broaden and enhance the construct, using developmental trajectories of stated essential elements of self-determination to build the case for understanding a con-tinuL11m of activities to build capacity, opportunity, and competence over a longer period of time (Wehmeyer & Palmer, 2000). This article will summarize the key literature from early childhood through adult-hood to continue to establish self-determination as a life-span concept in support of indi-vidUals with disabilities and their families. Work related to young children has primarily encompassed alterations to the environment (Brotherson, Cook, Erwin, & Weigel, 2008) and ideas for parents to support the development of self--determination at a later age (Erwin et al., 2009). The article will also detail the emerging conceptual understanding of imple-mentation during elementary and middle school levels (Palmer & Wehmeyer, 2003

A Qualitative Study of the Initiation and Continuation of Preschool Inclusion Programs

This is the publisher's version, also found here: http://cec.metapress.com/content/h13780v85427/?p=7691ebee5d054406b7e2d78120f572db&pi=25Initiation and continuation of preschool inclusion is a challenging task. Through interviews and focus groups of school district and special education personnel, researchers in this study examined how 5 programs in 1 Midwestern state provided such services. The investigation used a multiple-case study methodology to examine how these programs initiated and sustained inclusive services. Especially important to these programs were factors such as having a shared vision, utilizing key personnel, and developing a structure within which the program could work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR

Exploring Personal and Environmental Characteristics that Predict Self-Determination

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The original publication is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09362835.2013.802231.This study examined the degree to which multiple personal (age, gender, disability, and need for educational support) and school environment characteristics (hours in academic classes with general education peers, hours in nonacademic classes with age-peers, attendance at the most recent individualized education plan [IEP] meeting, transition goal for the future on the IEP, and experience with setting goals for the future) predicted student's relative level of self-determination. Age, disability label, hours in academic classes with general education peers, and goal setting experience were significant predictors, accounting for 22% of the variance in self-determination scores. Implications for future research and practice are discussed

A Model for Parent-Teacher Collaboration to Promote Self-Determination in Young Children With Disabilities

This is the publisher's version, also found here: http://cec.metapress.com/content/h852n2t54065t89x/?p=6810d06059044800aa4cb3212939bc4f&pi=

Impact of curriculum modifications on access to the general education curriculum for students with disabilities

This is the publisher's version, also found here: http://cec.metapress.com/content/4r15312203720k10/?p=894108fe09e449b9a6b0c2c7538086b1&pi=4This study investigated whether curriculum modifications predicted student and teacher behaviors related to the general education curriculum and if there were differences in ecological, student, and teacher variables depending on the presence of such curriculum modifications. The study observed 45 high school students with disabilities during instruction in core content areas. Findings indicated that there were significant differences in student and teacher variables depending on the presence of curriculum modifications. When curriculum modifications were provided, students were engaged in more academic-related responses and fewer competing behaviors and teachers were engaged in fewer classroom management activities. Implications and recommendations from these findings are provided pertaining to the importance and implementation of curriculum modifications for students with disabilities in general education settings

Adult Outcomes for Students with Cognitive Disabilities Three-Years After High School: The Impact of Self-Determination

Abstract: This article reports a follow-up study of school leavers with mental retardation or learning disabilities who were surveyed 1- and 3-years after they left school to determine what they were doing in major life areas (employment, independent living or community integration). Students were divided into two groups based on self-determination scores collected during their final year at high school. Comparisons between these groups on outcomes at 1 and 3 years post-graduation indicate that students who were more self-determined fared better across multiple life categories, including employment and access to health and other benefits, financial independence, and independent living. Over the last decade there has been consider-able focus in special education literature on the importance of self-determination in the education of students with disabilities. Due largely to the federal emphasis on and fund-ing for promoting self-determination as a component of transition services for youth with disabilities, numerous resources are now available to support instruction to achieve this outcome. Such resources range from curricu-lar materials and guides to instructional strat-egies and methods (Field & Hoffman, 1996a

Project Safe Flight: Making New York Safe for Migratory Birds

More than 100 species of migratory birds pass through New York City during spring and fall migrations. Located at the nexus of several migratory routes, New York City’s tall buildings and reflective glass pose a serious threat to over 100 species of migratory birds. Since 1997, NYC Audubon has led Project Safe Flight (PSF), a volunteer-based citizen-science project, with the goal of monitoring and mitigating bird collisions. We examined 16 years of PSF data, during which volunteers collected over 6,000 birds of 126 different species. The top two species, White-throated Sparrow and Common Yellowthroat, make up 23% of all collisions. The fall migration has a higher average number of collisions than spring. Distinct phenological trends in species composition are apparent, with American Woodcock making up the majority of early spring collisions and Dark-eyed Junco being the most common in late fall. Because birds may be overlooked by volunteers or be taken by scavengers or maintenance crews after collisions, we performed a persistence study and found that the recovery of bird carcasses was highly variable between sites. This ongoing study is important in developing a database of bird collisions to help elucidate and reduce the causes of urban bird collisions

Progress Monitoring in Inclusive Preschools: Using Children's School Success+ Curriculum Framework

Progress monitoring in inclusive preschool classrooms should describe all children's progress towards general curriculum outcomes and individual children's unique outcomes or IEP goals. This research study used the Children's School Success+ Curriculum Framework (CSS+ Curriculum Framework) and progress monitoring process to assess the outcomes of 73 children on these dimensions. Children's progress monitoring data were analyzed within groupings based on instructional need level (i.e., low, medium, or high) in academic content and social domains. Progress monitoring findings for both the academic and social support level of need groups showed significant progress pre- to posttest on most academic outcomes, but some variation with less consistent gains within the social emotional domain. Goal attainment scaling data demonstrated children's gains toward achieving their social goals (individualized education program [IEP] or specific learning goals) were at the expected level between 50% and 71% of the time. Academic-focused goal attainment was at or above the expected level of between 54% and 76% of the time, based on the learning grouping. Teacher implementation of CSS+ Curriculum Framework appeared to impact change in classroom and instructional practices pre-post intervention

Technology use by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to support employment activities: A single-subject design meta analysis

This is the published version. Copyright 2006 IOS PressObjectives: Technology has the potential to improve employment and rehabilitation related outcomes for persons with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of technology use on employment-related outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Study design: A comprehensive search of the literature pertaining to technology use by people with intellectual disabilities was conducted, and a single-subject design meta analysis was conducted for a subset of those studies, which focused on employment and rehabilitation related outcomes. Results: The use of technology to promote outcomes in this area was shown to be generally effective, in particular when universal design features were addressed. Conclusions: Technology has the potential to enable people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to achieve more positive employment and rehabilitation outcomes. It is important to focus on universal design features important to persons with cognitive disabilities, and there is a need for more research in this area

The impact of the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction on student self-determination

This is the publisher's version, also found here: http://cec.metapress.com/content/c5n78j60w945vk2x/?p=9b7820f03e7c4a37be218efe08d17483&pi=0Promoting self-determination has become a best practice in special education. There remains, however, a paucity of causal evidence for interventions to promote self-determination. This article presents the results of a group-randomized, modified equivalent control group design study of the efficacy of the Self Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI, Wehmeyer, Palmer, Agran, Mithaug, & Martin, 2000) to promote self-determination. The authors used data on self-determination using multiple measures collected with 312 high school students with cognitive disabilities in both a control and a treatment group to examine the relationship between the SDLMI and self-determination. After determining strong measurement invariance for each latent construct, they found significant differences in latent means across measurement occasions and differential effects attributable to the SDLMI. This was true across disability category, though there was variance across disability populations