Effects of Interventions to Promote Self-Determination for Individuals With Disabilities

Abstract

Self-determination, the combination of skills, knowledge, and beliefs that enable a person to engage in goal-directed, self-regulated, autonomous behavior, has become an important part of special education and related services for people with disabilities. Research on the outcomes of self-determination interventions has been sparse. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive review of literature and used quantitative methods of meta-analysis to investigate what self-determination interventions have been studied, what groups of individuals with disabilities have been taught self-determination, and what levels of outcomes have been achieved using self-determination interventions. Fifty-one studies were identified that intervened to promote one or more components of self-determination; 22 were included in meta-analyses. The median effect size across 100 group intervention comparisons (contained in 9 studies) was 1.38. In contrast, 13 single subject studies included 18 interventions and produced a median percentage of nonoverlapping data (PND) of 95% with a range of 64% to 100%. Seven of the interventions had a PND of 100%, suggesting strong effects. Although all components of self-determination were reflected in this research, most focused on teaching choice making to individuals with moderate and severe mental retardation or self-advocacy to individuals with learning disabilities or mild mental retardation. The outcomes are discussed regarding the need to demonstrate that self-determination can be taught and learned, and can make a difference in the lives of individuals with disabilities.