Promoting self-determination has been identified as an important practice for the successful transition of youth and young adults with disabilities, and numerous studies have examined the relationship between levels of self-determination and transition-related and postsecondary outcomes. Only a few such studies, however, have examined the global…

The purpose of this study was to assess the self-determination of Spanish high school students with Intellectual Disabilities and other Special Educational Needs (SEN). A total of 371 students between 11 and 17 years of age participated in the study. Of these, 46.4% (n = 171) presented SEN, specifically learning disabilities (n = 97; 26.2%),…

Although some progress has been made, the belief that students with severe cognitive and multiple disabilities will not or cannot become self-determined remains a barrier for many such students. This article revisits topics that were identified in Wehmeyer (1998) as contributing to this problem, with a particular focus on definitional issues…

Describes a functional model of self-determination as a dispositional characteristic of individuals. The model has been used to conduct research to examine the effect of self-determination on the lives of people with disabilities, to describe the development of self-determination, and to design interventions to promote self-determination.…

This article reviews how the term "self-determination" has been defined and conceptualized, examines misperceptions of the term that may have contributed to the exclusion of people with severe disabilities, and seeks to find common ground to move forward to promote self-determination for people with severe disabilities. (Author/PB)

This article proposes a definition and model of self-determination for individuals with mental retardation. Self-determined behavior is seen as autonomous, self-regulated, based on psychological empowerment, and self-realizing. Evaluation of the definition with individuals with mental retardation indicated that measures of essential…

This response to a previous article (EC 625 845) on the needs and challenges related to the assessment of self-determination in the field of developmental disability, identifies issues related to the use and abuse of assessing self-determination and suggests an empowerment evaluation approach to these efforts. (Contains four references.)…

This study evaluated locus of control orientations, perceptions of efficacy, and outcome expectancies of 282 adolescents with mental retardation and compared them to students with learning disabilities and at-risk students. Subjects were found to hold unrealistic understandings and perceptions of causality and excessively external global…