Prior Theory: Social-emotional learning (SEL) is the ability to manage emotions and social interactions adaptively to succeed in school, at work, in relationships, and in communities (Jones & Doolittle, 2017). The most cited SEL theory is the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) 5 model, which focuses on promoting…

Purpose: The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 mandates vocational rehabilitation (VR) counselors play a greater role in providing transition-related services for students and youth with disabilities, such as pre-employment activities and increased collaborative efforts with state and local education agencies and American Jobs…

As a part of their strategic long term planning process, the Commonwealth Council for Developmental Disabilities (CCDD), Kentucky Protection & Advocacy (KPA), and the Human Development Institute (HDI) at the University of Kentucky developed a survey to identify areas of high need for people with disabilities in the state. This research brief…

This qualitative study investigated the academic, community, and family experiences of adults who are profoundly deaf. The deaf adults were categorized as high-achieving by having attended college post-high school. The intent of this study is to give teachers, parents, and other deaf students, insight into the factors responsible for contributing…

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are attending postsecondary programs at unprecedented rates. Transitions are especially challenging for students with ASD, yet little is known about critical transitions during the college experience. Using the College Adjustment Program Evaluation Scales (CAPES), we examined student and parent…

Despite the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act's (IDEA) mandates for student involvement in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process, several researchers have demonstrated limited student participation. One method for encouraging self-advocacy and active IEP participation is to teach students to communicate their hopes, dreams,…

Camp Campus is a 1-week campus experience for juniors or seniors in high school or high school graduates who are diagnosed with high-functioning autism, Asperger syndrome, or a related social communication disorder and who plan to attend college. Participants experience campus life by partaking of campus services, living and dining on campus,…

Although enhancing students' self-determination is advocated as a central element of high-quality special education and transition services, little is known about the ways in which paraprofessionals are involved in promoting self-determination or the extent to which they share teachers' views regarding its importance. The authors surveyed 223…

The Texas Statewide Youth Leadership Forum (TXYLF) provides self-advocacy training to high school youths with disabilities. TXYLF is an enhanced version of the Youth Leadership Forum (YLF) that is comprised of an initial five day training, a nine month support phase, regional YLFs, and the opportunity for participants to return to the five day…

Teacher education programs typically provide pre-service teachers preparation in assessment and identification procedures used to identify students with learning disabilities. What may be missing from teacher preparation is the development of communication skills to thoughtfully and professionally teach children about their disabilities. This…

In this study, the authors developed, administered, and evaluated a measure of individual actions of college students with disabilities and their perceptions of postsecondary and social supports. An exploratory factor analysis resulted in nine reliable factors in these three areas. Follow-up regression analyses revealed that self-advocacy…

This report describes the self-reported training needs of advisors to self-advocacy groups for people with mental retardation in the United States. The results of a telephone survey of 90 advisors indicate that because of time, financial, and interest issues, training opportunities for advisors need to be time sensitive, inexpensive, and…

The second article on a survey of self-advocacy groups for people with learning disabilities in England reports key findings that included the consistency of the issues identified as important and the willingness to engage in research. Key themes were self-advocacy, rights, day service center issues, staffing, personal relationships, complaints,…

A telephone survey of 90 advisors to self-advocacy groups identified a wide array of advisor activities and gained information on how advisors see their activities changing as groups develop. Results are interpreted in terms of theories of group development. Results suggest that, instead of rigid stages of group development, a more flexible model…

A telephone survey examined self-reported training needs of 90 advisors to self-advocacy groups for people with mental retardation. Major findings addressed desired training topics, preferred training formats, hours and frequency of training, how training needs change, and differences in training based on advisor demographic data. Analysis…