©1993 The Council for Exceptional Children. Self-Determination for Persons with Disabilities: Choice, Risk, and Dignity PATRICKJ. SCHLOSS

ABSTRACT: Self-determination refers to the ability to consider options and make appropriate choices in the home, at school, at work, and during leisure time. A growing philosophical and legal base supports full participation ofpersons with disabilities in natural settings in the community, and empirical studies document the abilities of persons with severe and multiple disabilities to learn to make choices. Follow-up studies indicate that the majority ofspecial education graduates have not made a successful transitionfrom school to life as an adult in the community. Many remain underemployed or unemployed for reasons associated with lack of decision-making skills. This article presents a rationale for including self-determination in special education curricula. The article describes a framework for providing choices, based on an analysis of risk and benefits. Assessment approaches and teaching strategies are offered. D Self-determination is the ability of a person to consider options and make appropriate choices regarding residential life, work, and leisure time. Teaching self-determination skills to people with disabilities is receiving increased attention for several reasons. First, there is a growing philo-sophical base of support for providing choice op-portunities to people with disabilities. Professional literature clearly indicates that nor-malization and quality of life are closely associ-ated with one's ability to choose from a range o