An Evaluation of the Beyond High School Model on the Self-Determination of Students with Intellectual Disability

Using a visual support package to facilitate independent leisure engagement and choice-making for individuals with moderate to severe autism in Taiwan

LAY ABSTRACT

Self-determination encompasses various components, including decision-making and independence, making it a complex process. While the importance of self-determination for individuals with autism spectrum disorder has been explored in previous studies, there is limited research focusing on individuals with moderate to severe autism spectrum disorder. Evidence-based practices such as visual activity schedules and video modeling have shown effectiveness in promoting independence among individuals with autism spectrum disorder. To address the need for independence and choice-making among individuals with moderate to severe autism spectrum disorder, this study developed a visual support package incorporating visual activity schedules, video modeling, preference assessments, and prompt procedures. By investigating the intervention's effectiveness in three participants, this study contributes to the existing literature on the use of a visual activity schedule and video modeling in enhancing choice-making and independent leisure engagement. Following the intervention, all participants were able to select three leisure activities, develop their own visual schedules, and complete them. Notably, this study conducted preference assessments to determine participants' preferred leisure activities and did not provide additional reinforcement. Practical implications of this research include incorporating video prompting as needed and adjusting activity engagement time. Future research should explore the long-term effectiveness of the visual support package and its application in developing novel skills or vocational activities for individuals with moderate to severe autism spectrum disorder. This study fills a critical gap in the literature, providing important insights for practices and research in the field of autism spectrum disorder interventions.

Developing the self-determination of children and young people with intellectual disabilities in schools: A systematic review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Self-determination is associated with lifelong positive outcomes. Students with intellectual disabilities typically have lower self-determination than their peers. Universal basic education access offers schools the opportunity to rectify this disparity. This is the first systematic review investigating the school-based practices that target self-determination development for students with intellectual disabilities.

METHOD

The review follows the PRISMA guidelines, spanning five databases (ProQuest databases, EMBASE, Scopus, Sage Journals, Taylor and Francis Online) from 2006 to 2021.

RESULTS

Across the 18 studies, the most used practice is the SDLMI. Research focuses on United States-based transition-aged students with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities. Social validity tends to be assessed in summative and informal ways. Students are not generally involved in decision-making about practices and individualisation of support.

CONCLUSIONS

Self-determination development for this population can begin before puberty. Future research should critically investigate social validity and holistic integration of student self-determination learning opportunities throughout the pedagogical cycle.

Perspectives of adolescents with disabilities and their parents regarding autonomous decision-making and self-determination

BACKGROUND

Parents' promotion of autonomous decision-making (PADM) is essential for adolescents with disabilities and constitutes the basis for maturation of self-determination (SD). SD develops based on adolescents' capacities and the opportunities offered to them at home and at school, to make personal decisions regarding their life.

AIM

Examine the associations between the PADM and SD of adolescents with disabilities from their own perspective and that of their parents.

METHOD

Sixty-nine adolescents with disabilities and one of their parents completed a self-report questionnaire including PADM and SD scales.

OUTCOMES

The findings showed associations between parents' and adolescents' reports of PADM, and opportunities for SD at home. PADM was associated with capacities for SD among adolescents. Gender differences were also apparent, with both adolescent girls and their parents reporting higher ratings of SD than adolescent boys.

CONCLUSIONS

Parents who promote autonomous decision-making among their adolescent children with disabilities start a virtuous circle by offering greater opportunities for SD within the home. In turn, these adolescents rate their SD as higher, and communicate this perspective to their parents. Consequently, their parents offer them more opportunities for autonomous decision-making at home, thus enhancing their SD.

What happens after high school? A review of independent living practices to support youth with disabilities transitioning to adult life

BACKGROUND: Centers for Independent Living (CILs) can help out-of-school youth with disabilities. CIL services may be particularly important for minority youth with disabilities that face additional transition barriers. OBJECTIVE: This literature review documents existing practices that might aid CILs as they seek to help youth, including minority youth, with disabilities transition to adult life. METHODS: First, we conducted a literature search to identify practices that might help CILs assist youth with disabilities transition to independent living (IL) in early adult life. Then we examined various literature syntheses of postsecondary transition interventions with evidence of promise or efficacy for any IL-related outcome—regardless of whether the intervention targeted youth with disabilities. RESULTS: We discovered a variety of practices CILs might learn from or consider adopting to help youth with disabilities transition to adult life. However, the practices rarely focused on minority youth and usually had limited or no evidence about whether they improved IL outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The limitations of the evidence we found suggest the need to develop and test interventions that help transition age youth with disabilities—especially minority youth with disabilities—achieve their IL goals.

A measurement of self-determination for people with intellectual disability: description of the AUTODDIS scale and evidences of reliability and external validity

Background: Appropriate supports and instructional practices contribute to the development of self-determination. Also, research shows that the promotion of skills related to self-determination has been linked to the achievement of desired outcomes over the different life stages. Advances in self-determination require the development of assessment instruments because there is a reciprocal relationship between assessment and instruction. The purpose of this paper is to provide a description of the AUTODDIS Scale, along with evidence of its reliability and external validity. Method: A sample of 541 people with intellectual disabilities aged from 11 to 40 was used to validate the scale. Results: The reliability results indicate that the AUTODDIS Scale shows high internal consistency. The total score and subscale scores indicate moderate inter-rater reliability. The scores were also moderately to highly associated with other related measures of self-determination and quality of life (QoL). Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that consistent and valid information can be obtained from the AUTODDIS Scale.

A systematic review of self-determination interventions for children and youth with disabilities

PURPOSE

Developing self-determination skills is an important component of youth's maturation. However, many youths with disabilities lack opportunities to engage in activities that can promote these skills. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of self-determination interventions for children and youth with disabilities.

METHODS

A systematic review was performed on seven international databases that identified 28 studies meeting our inclusion criteria.

RESULTS

Among the 28 studies, 5184 youth with disabilities (aged 9-29, mean age 16.8 years) were represented across three countries. The interventions varied in duration, length, number of sessions, and delivery format, which included curriculum-based, workshops, experiential or residential learning, peer coaching and mentoring, self-directed individual learning, computer games, and multi-component designs. 19/28 studies reported a significant improvement in self-determination. Of these 13/18 studies showed improvements as measured by Arc's self-determination scale, while 8/13 studies reported a significant improvement as measured by AIR self-determination scale. Other significant differences were reported in vocational skills self-efficacy and self-determination inventory.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight that there are several types of interventions that have the potential to improve self-determination for youth with disabilities. Further research is needed to understand what program components could help youth to obtain optimal outcomes.Implications for RehabilitationSeveral types of interventions (school-based, community, online) have potential to influence self-determination for youth with disabilities.Clinicians and educators should consider having multiple components including workshops, one-to-one and group-based learning, mentoring and coaching for optimal program outcomes.Interventions that are targeted to enhance self-determination for youth with disabilities should be theoretically informed and use a validated measure to assess their effectiveness.

Using Evidence-Based Practice and Data-Based Decision Making in Inclusive Education

There are longstanding calls for inclusive education for all regardless of student need or teacher capacity to meet those needs. Unfortunately, there are little empirical data to support full inclusion for all students and even less information on the role of data-based decision making in inclusive education specifically, even though there is extensive research on the effectiveness of data-based decision making. In this article, we reviewed what data-based decision making is and its role in education, the current state of evidence related to inclusive education, and how data-based decision making can be used to support decisions for students with reading disabilities and those with intellectual disabilities transitioning to adulthood. What is known about evidence-based practices in supporting reading and transition are reviewed in relationship to the realities of implementing these practices in inclusive education settings. Finally, implications for using data-based decisions in inclusive settings are discussed.

Promoting the Self-Determination of Mexican Young Adults Identified with Intellectual Disability: A Sociocultural Discourse Analysis of Their Discussion about Goal Setting

Self-determination is the product of the individuals’ volition in interaction with their environment. Enhancing the self-determination of young adults with intellectual disability (ID) has been related to positive adult outcomes. Educational programmes to promote self-determination commonly rely on the interaction between students and educators to set goals and make plans to achieve them. Yet the quality of these interactions has been little studied. This research involves Mexican students identified with ID who had accessed universities through the education programme: Building Bridges. The paper presents findings of a sociocultural discourse analysis of the conversations that arose when three students, a teacher and a facilitator discussed courses of action to achieve the students’ “Challenge of the Month” goals. We discuss how the student’s goal setting could be supported and hindered in these conversations. Potential constraints on students’ goal setting are noted when discussions of concrete courses of action are prioritized over discussions that would lead students to reflect more deeply on the motives behind their goals.

Advances in the assessment of self-determination: internal structure of a scale for people with intellectual disabilities aged 11 to 40

BACKGROUND

Advances in theoretical frameworks of self-determination require the development of new assessment instruments. This study examines the dimensional structure of a self-determination scale and analyses the factorial invariance of its measurement across age and gender.

METHOD

The AUTODDIS Scale was used to assess the self-determination of 541 people with intellectual disabilities aged from 11 to 40.

RESULTS

Different models (correlational and hierarchical structures) of the scale were tested. The correlational model obtained from the exploratory structural equation model approach provided the best fit for the data. The results also supported measurement invariance across youths (aged 11 to 21 years) and adults (aged 21 to 40 years) and across genders.

CONCLUSIONS

This study contributes to international research on self-determination and the development of assessment tools in this field, offering a better understanding of this multifaceted and complex construct. The results provide construct validity evidence regarding a new measurement tool tested across people aged 11 to 40, using information from third parties. However, further research is needed to explore the best ways to understand and assess the different factors related to self-determination.

Scoping Review of School-to-Work Transition for Youth With Intellectual Disabilities: A Practice Gap

IMPORTANCE

Youth with intellectual disabilities (ID) have persistently poor work outcomes. Occupational therapy can support school-to-work transition but is underrepresented in transition practice.

OBJECTIVE

To identify and describe interventions within the scope of occupational therapy for youth with ID who are transitioning from school to work.

DATA SOURCES

MEDLINE, ERIC, PsycINFO, and CINAHL were searched, and hand searching was performed in relevant peer-reviewed journals.

STUDY SELECTION AND DATA COLLECTION

Included were peer-reviewed, English-language articles published from 2004 to 2017 describing studies focused on youth with ID with no significant co-occurring physical diagnoses who were transitioning from U.S.-based school settings to paid employment. Data extraction was managed using Google Drive. Data were organized on extraction sheets by trained reviewers. The quality of each study was assessed using questions adapted from the Critical Appraisal Skills Program checklist.

FINDINGS

A total of 35 articles were included, 7 of which used randomized controlled designs. All articles described interventions aligned with the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process (3rd ed.), but specific mention of occupational therapy was notably absent from the literature. Interventions had little and generally low-level evidence supporting their use.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Significant and concerning gaps exist in the literature on school-to-work transition for youth with ID, likely impeding evidence-based practice. No included article mentioned occupational therapy or had a contributor who was an occupational therapy practitioner. Practitioners should advocate for occupational therapy's role in transition and contribute reports of occupational therapy transition services for youth with ID to the literature.

WHAT THIS ARTICLE ADDS

This study demonstrates that occupational therapy is poorly represented in literature describing transition services for youth with ID. Although the articles described interventions within the occupational therapy domain, these interventions were not provided by occupational therapy practitioners and did not have a strong evidence base.

Self-determination in young adults with autism spectrum disorder

This study examined rates of and contributing factors to self-determination among young adults with autism spectrum disorder. Caregivers of young adults with autism spectrum disorder, 16-25 years, from five Autism Treatment Network sites completed surveys about their young adults' transition experiences including the American Institutes for Research Self-Determination measure. Data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analysis. Caregivers (n = 479) reported their young adults with autism spectrum disorder as having moderate overall self-determination (x = 38; standard deviation = 9.04) with low capacity (x = 15.3; standard deviation = 5.67) and high opportunities at home (x = 23.1; standard deviation = 4.59). Young adults with autism spectrum disorder with intellectual disability or severe autism spectrum disorder symptomology experience significant disparities in overall self-determination compared to those without intellectual disability and less frequent symptom expression and severity. Barring severity indicators, there were few significant predictors of self-determination. Findings show a breakdown in self-determination skill-building. Young adults with autism spectrum disorder with intellectual disability or severe symptomology experienced significant disparities in self-determination. These findings show that current promotion of self-determination is not meeting the needs of young adults with autism spectrum disorder. Future interventions must identify what supports young adults with autism spectrum disorder need to capitalize on these opportunities to be independent and exert autonomy in their daily lives.

A Summary of NCSER-Funded Projects in the Area of Transition Outcomes for Secondary Students With Disabilities

Special education practitioners are required to use instructional practices based on scientific research. Conducting high-quality research can be expensive and researchers often need federal funding to assist in documenting effective practices. The National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is a preferred source of funding for this type of special education research. The purpose of this review was to summarize publications from grants funded from 2006 until 2013 by NCSER in the area of Transition Outcomes for Special Education Secondary Students, describe major findings, and discuss their contributions to the field. We reviewed information from 22 grants and 132 articles published in refereed journals with an additional one article in press. Contributions to the field, limitations, suggestions for future research, implications for practice, and conclusions are discussed.

Self-determination and choice

Promoting self-determination and choice opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities has become best practice in the field. This article reviews the research and development activities conducted by the authors over the past several decades and provides a synthesis of the knowledge in the field pertaining to efforts to promote self-determination and choice.