Previously in
TASH Connections:
Volume 32, Issue Number 5/6
May/June 2006

Promoting Self-Determination through Policy, Practice and Outcome

"Literature shows that self-determination does have positive impact on post-secondary and quality of life outcomes, including helping students learn to make decisions, be assertive, and self-advocate. The fields of both special education and adult services have made great strides in supporting self-determination for persons with severe disabilities, but critical challenges remain. Self-determination is not a program or the way someone does something. It is about enabling people with disabilities to make things happen in their lives. Self-determination, first, foremost, and always is about the SELF. It is about taking control over one's life to the extent possible or desired by the individual."¹

The articles presented in this issue of TASH Connections look at self-determination as a means to "empower people with severe disabilities by providing skills instruction and opportunities to practice choice and decision-making so that they themselves can obtain the outcomes that they want." We gratefully acknowledge the critical assistance and support of Dr. Martin Agran of the University of Wyoming and graduate research assistants Lorraine Sylvester and Lee Woods of the Zarrow Center for Learning Enrichmen at the University of Oklahoma in developing this issue of TASH Connections.

¹ From Self-determination and Special Education: Lessons Learned and Challenges to Address by
Michael J. Ward. See the full text of the article in this issue of Connections Express.

Articles from the May/June 2006 Issue of TASH Connections:

Self-Determination: Achieving a Say-Do Correspondence by Martin Agran
A potentially effective self- or student-directed learning strategy is self-instruction in which a student learns to verbally direct his or her behavior (Wehmeyer, Agran, & Hughes, 1998). The student is taught to verbally tell him- or herself what he or she needs to do next in a given sequence. Like other student-directed strategies, it allows the student to direct his or her behavior rather than remain dependent on someone else to deliver the cues.

Parent Practices in Facilitating Self-Determination Skills: The Influences of Culture, Socioeconomic Status, and Children's Special Education Status by Leena Jo Landmark and Dalun Zhang
Over the past 15 years, there has been a growing recognition that enhanced self-determination improves transition outcomes of students with disabilities (Algozzine, Browder, Karvonen, Test, & Wood, 2001; Zhang, Wehmeyer, & Chen, 2005). Researchers have suggested a strong link between enhanced self-determination skills and better in-school and post-school outcomes for students with and without disabilities. For example, Field and Hoffman (2002) pointed out that students with disabilities who were involved in planning, decision making, and implementation of their educational programs achieved better academic success than their peers who did not. Hardre and Reeve (2003) analyzed questionnaire data from rural high school students with and without disabilities and found that the provision of autonomy support within classrooms predicted students' self-determined motivation and perceived competence. These motivational resources, in turn, predicted students' intentions to persist versus drop out.

Self-determination and Special Education: Lessons Learned and Challenges to Address by Michael J. Ward
Self-determination for people with severe disabilities first appears in the 1972 writing of Benget Nirje where he stated that they could and should have a role in their own choices (Shapiro, 1993). Nirje promoted society to take actions that would enable them to have choices and control their lives and destinies, personal activities, education, independence, and decisions (Nirje, 1972; Agran & Wehmeyer, 2003).

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Previously in
TASH Connections:
Volume 32, Issue Number 3/4
March/April 2006

Issues in Early Childhood and Early Intervention Supports and Services

According to research, a significant amount of a child's growth and development occur in the early years of life. Quality early childhood and early intervention programs provide important educational, social and nurturing experiences to young children. These programs often provide critical resources and supports needed by both children and families.

As the selection of articles in this issue of TASH Connections share with us, the challenge lies in finding and maximizing the opportunities for these kinds of interactions within homes, schools, and communities to take root.

Articles from the March/April 2006 Issue of TASH Connections:

Moving from Concerns to Action: Enhancing Early Childhood Family Supports and Services Through a Community of Practice  By Ann Turnbull, Jean Ann Summers, Mary Jane Brotherson, and Pam Epley
We encourage you to reflect on the provision of supports and services to families at the early childhood level over the last 5-10 years. Do you have a sense that:  Supports and services to families are increasing?  Supports and services to families are declining?  Supports and services to families are about the same now as they were then?  This is the question we started asking ourselves about 6-9 months ago as we had frequent conversations about the current status of early childhood supports and services to families. It seemed to us that two contemporary factors are lowering the priority of providing family supports and services.

The Inclusion of Young Children with Disabilities:  Professional Development Challenges and Future Directions by Pam Winton
Since 1993, the field of early intervention has embraced the concept of full inclusion for all young children with disabilities (Division for Early Childhood, 1993). The commitment to inclusion at the federal level has grown even stronger recently, as evident in the emphasis on natural environments in IDEA reauthorization (IDEA, 1997) and OSEP’s identification of Preschool LRE as a priority and their monitoring of states around inclusion issues.

The Inclusive Early Childhood Literate Community: Supporting All Children's Citizenship By Janet Sauer, Jillian McCarthy, and Chris Kliewer
Our research focuses on how young children with significant developmental disabilities may be supported as increasingly sophisticated citizens of the inclusive early childhood literate community. There is little evidence that the situation has improved for the vast majority of young children with significant developmental disabilities. Our research demonstrates 5 currents in the stream of literacy development that, when combined in imaginative, responsive fashion, foster literate citizenship. The idea of current gets at the necessary fluidity when considering individualized supports.

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TASH Connections:
Volume 32, Issue Number 1/2
January/February 2006

Supporting Positive Practices and People with Challenging Behaviors

TASH HISTORY AND FUTURES PLANNING

TASH's future - At the November conference in Milwaukee, TASH celebrated its 30th anniversary. A number of activities took place over the course of the conference to not only celebrate but to begin to plan strategically for TASH's future. 

TASH Chapter Brainstorming TASH chapter leaders, board members, and staff began their meeting on November 9th with a warm-up brainstorming activity that celebrated the strengths and culture of TASH as an organization. This served as a base for two round-robin brainstorming sessions focusing on priorities for TASH accomplishments (what do we want to change or influence) and priorities for TASH’s development as an organization.  

Articles from the January/February 2006 Issue of TASH Connections:

The First Question  By David W. Guare
Florence was 68 years old when we met. She had been severely self abusive for quite some time and her face was badly scarred as a result. I was supposed to figure out a way to stop her from hurting herself, but her behavior was so extreme that I felt like she was out of my league. I did not have confidence that my skills would turn her behavior around.  I had met Herb Lovett many years prior to this and we had become friends, at least enough for him to remember my name whenever we saw each other. I was impressed by his common sense approach to understanding people, but I was never able to understand how to apply his wisdom to my everyday work. But in Florence's case I needed his help. I gave him a call and we set a date.

The Importance of Belonging By David Pitonyak
Most of what I do in my practice is not very complicated. I spend time with people in ordinary places and situations and try to get to know them. I always ask the person for permission to meddle in their business, and most people, even those without a formal means of communication, let me know that it's OK. What I am most interested in is the person's story, the people and events that have shaped their lives, the highlights and disappointments, the ordeals and accomplishments. What often emerges, if I listen carefully, is a very human story, one that is easy to identify with, one that is all at once extraordinary and ordinary.