Self-determination and self-advocacy are critical skills for students with disabilities (SWD). Around the world, practitioners and educators express concerns that students transitioning from school to post-high school settings often lack the awareness to discuss their strengths, preferences, and needs. To improve self-determination, a one-year…

Students with disabilities attend college at higher rates than they have in previous years; however, students with disabilities do not graduate from college at the same rate as students without disabilities. This mixed method study, guided by the Social Change Model of Leadership theoretical framework, examined the transition of six students with…

Students with disabilities continue to lag behind their peers without disabilities in the area of post-school success. This study qualitatively analyzed individual responses from 6 years of post-school outcomes survey data in one state to identify positive experiences said to help students reach their post-school goals. Respondents reported nine…

The present study examined African American high school students' perceptions of their development and use of self-determination skills (e.g., goal setting, choice/decision making, self-advocacy, etc.) in school. The term "development" refers to the cultivation of self-determination skills through various means (e.g., structured learning…

One factor that may contribute to the success of students with disabilities in postsecondary educational settings may be their ability to advocate for academic accommodations. By incorporating self-determination practices into the curriculum and transition process during high school, students with disabilities may acquire the self-advocacy skills…

Research suggests a potential relationship between self-determination and improved post-school outcomes for students with disabilities. Self-determination represents a particularly relevant variable which deserves increased attention for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD); however, there is no consistent understanding on how to…

Many educators use the "Me! Lessons" to teach high school students with disabilities self-advocacy and self-awareness knowledge and skills. We conducted a mixed-methods study to examine the usefulness of the lessons, obtain student and parent perceptions of the lessons and to examine the lessons' impact on student knowledge. This study…

The use of peer support arrangements can be an effective strategy to improve educational services for students with disabilities, including those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). When developing peer support arrangements, secondary teachers should consider aligning these services with evidence-based predictors of positive postschool outcomes…

Special educators at an inclusive career-technical high school created a model to support annually increasing expectations for self-determination and levels of student participation in Individualized Education Program (IEP) planning and implementation. The grade-specific components of the model and supporting context are described. Students were…

This article portrays the complex nature of the transition process for two students with visual impairments (VI), both functionally blind, who successfully completed a bachelor's degree. Standardized open-ended interviews provided individual perspectives on the transition services, supports, and challenges faced by the participants with VI during…

Students with disabilities need to be more involved in planning and presenting individualized education program (IEP) meetings, and teachers need an effective, efficient curriculum to teach students how. "My IEP" curriculum uses folding graphic organizers to teach students to self-direct IEP meetings, targeting self-advocacy and…

Promoting self-determination in students with disabilities is recognized as an integral component of education today. For most students with disabilities, self-determination should be addressed through instruction and in the Individualized Education Program (IEP). Yet, IEPs are rarely evaluated to determine if goals targeting self-determination…

High school graduates with specific learning disabilities (SLD) often lack sufficient skills to advocate for themselves in adult situations. This limited advocacy ability of young adults with SLD contributes to their higher postsecondary school drop-out rate, lower paying jobs, and a greater dependence on family and public assistance programs for…

The purpose of the current study was to identify component elements of self-determination that may promote positive or buffer negative school- and career-related adjustment of adolescent girls with disabilities or with multiple risk factors. Autonomy, self-realization, and self-advocacy were examined together to ascertain both their cumulative and…

An increased focus on expanding and synthesizing the transition evidence base, while important, should be supplemented with research highlighting the lived experiences of young adults with disabilities as they move from high school to adult roles. This study documents the experiences of four successful college students with varied disabilities…