This article discusses the importance of early intervention advocacy and provides vignettes that illustrate sample early intervention advocacy issues from the perspectives of parents, teachers, and program administrators. Quick tips are provided for professionals as self-advocates and for family advocacy, along with legislative Web site resources.…

The Steps to Self-Determination curriculum model focuses on knowing oneself, valuing oneself, planning, acting, experiencing outcomes, and learning. It has been tested with 77 high school students having a variety of disabilities. Two related scales have also been developed: the Self-Determination Observation Checklist and the Self-Determination…

Six necessary program components to prepare gifted students with disabilities for productive adult lives are identified: provide challenging educational experiences along with supports, facilitate passion learning through enrichment activities, empower students through student-centered planning, develop self-advocacy, enhance positive social…

Describes the GOLD program, a successful model for teaching gifted adolescents with learning disabilities which includes both resource-room support and enrichment. The curriculum includes teaching about learning disabilities, self-advocacy, critical thinking, word processing, communication skills, and ethics. Time is provided for remedial and…

This directory contains approximately 90 listings of print and media resources about self-advocacy and materials written by self-advocates. Listings are divided into the following 19 sections: advisor training; Americans with Disabilities Act; board training; building self-advocacy groups; choice making; employment; evaluation of services;…

This booklet for Minnesota young people with disabilities and their families is intended to explain vocational rehabilitation services required under the Rehabilitation Act as amended in 1992. The first section considers eligibility for vocational rehabilitation, the role of state agencies, the application process, and assessment. The next section…

This monograph presents 15 position statements of The Arc, a national organization for persons with mental retardation. A preamble presents the organization's Mission Statement. Principles and assumptions stressing the uniqueness of all people and the importance of a sense of control over one's destiny are listed. The position statements are then…

This book provides teachers and other practitioners with a variety of procedures and materials to help students with disabilities become involved in their transition planning to the maximum extent possible. Chapters include: (1) "Student Involvement in Education Planning, Decision Making, and Instruction: An Idea Whose Time Has Arrived" (Michael…

This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of the Self-Determination Synthesis Project (SDSP), a project designed to synthesize, corroborate, and communicate the professional knowledge base on the effects of self-determination and self-advocacy interventions for children and youth with disabilities. The SDSP used both quantitative and…

This document contains materials from a seminar on preparing youth with disabilities for postsecondary education and quality employment held at the National Capacity Building Institute in the summer of 2001. The agenda for the Institute is provided along with the following papers: (1) "Postsecondary Education Supports for Students with…

A preliminary evaluation of a recently developed multicomponent educational and support program for enhancing the self-determination of youth with disabilities found that participating students (18 young adults with mental retardation) in the classroom-based competency building sessions demonstrated improved choice-making, interpersonal problem…

Issues are discussed in the transition of students with learning disabilities from high school to employment or postsecondary education, focusing on the importance of providing instructional and counseling services to help students become self-sufficient, independent thinkers who can self-advocate and be responsible for their actions. (Author/JDD)

This curriculum is designed to enable youth and young adults with disabilities to gain greater personal control over their lives by providing them and their families with information and skills that support the exercise of self-determination. The youth/young adult family member with a disability is a full participant in all activities. The…

This paper presents information to assist students with learning disabilities (LD), counselors, and employers in building a bridge between community college and employment. It argues that students must learn to articulate how their LD affects them in a variety of situations, especially those requiring learning and performing work related tasks.…

This booklet defines chronic health-related illnesses and how they affect life functions; discusses the importance of transition planning; identifies how parents, school personnel, medical personnel, and community service providers can help the students with a chronic illness gain the knowledge and skills necessary for a successful postsecondary…