Self-Determination Resources
It is important that individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities have a voice in their own lives. As students transition into adult life and postsecondary education, self-determination and self-advocacy skills become paramount, allowing individuals to direct their own services and supports and plan for their own futures. Here are several great resources on self-determination.
A National Gateway to Self-Determination is a clearinghouse on resources, training and information on self-determination. It provides single-access for self-advocates, professionals, policy makers and the general public on the current best practices and evidence-based activities in enhancing self-determination in the lives of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
The Zarrow Center for Learning Enrichment facilitates successful secondary and postsecondary educational, vocational and personal outcomes for students and adults with disabilities. The site includes a number of resources that educators can use to promote self-determination in youth with disabilities. ZC faculty, staff, and students do this through self-determination oriented evaluation, research, development, transition education instruction, and dissemination of best educational and support practices. The ZC also prepares undergraduate and graduate students to assume leadership roles in schools, universities, and support organizations.
Teaching Self-Determination in Alaskan Schools: A Toolkit for Teachers is a project sponsored by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. The toolkit has been developed for teachers, parents, students and other professionals who are interested in promoting self-determination within home, school and community settings. The project began in 2003 and has been providing technical assistance and training on teaching self-determination skills.
The Colorado Department of Education has created a toolkit to provide information and tools necessary in creating a comprehensive and individualized transition process.
The Self-Determination/Self-Advocacy Synthesis Project. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, with a grant from the Office of Special Education Projects/US Department of Education, is conducting a review and synthesis of the knowledge base and best practices related to self-determination (SD) and self-advocacy (SA) interventions in order to improve, expand, and accelerate the use of this knowledge by the professionals who serve children and youth with disabilities and the parents who rear, educate, and support their children with disabilities.
The National Research and Training Center on Psychiatric Disability (NRTC) promotes access to effective consumer-driven and community-based services for adults with serious mental illness. The Center is located at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the Department of Psychiatry. The Center provides a series of tools to advance self-determination and person-driven services for use by people with psychiatric disabilities.
DisabilityInfo.gov is a comprehensive online resource designed to provide people with disabilities with quick and easy access to the information they need. With just a few clicks, the site provides access to disability-related information and programs available across the government on numerous subjects, including benefits, civil rights, community life, education, employment, housing, health, technology and transportation. This link takes you to resources under transition services for youth.
The 411 on Disability Disclosure: A Workbook for Youth with Disabilities is designed for youth and adults working with them to learn about disability disclosure. This workbook helps young people make informed decisions about whether or not to disclose their disability and understand how that decision may impact their education, employment, and social lives. Based on the premise that disclosure is a very personal decision, the Workbook helps young people think about and practice disclosing their disability.
