WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO

There are many ways families can build skills in their child that lead to decision-making and problem-solving. Self-determination includes:

• Belief in oneself
• Setting goals for the future
• Awareness of supports needed to attain goals

Families can use the same what is listed above. Below are some examples:

FUTURE DECISIONS : BUILDING SELF-DETERMINATION

FUTURE DECISIONS: BUILDING SELF-DETERMINATION

CHOICE MAKING	Would you like to go out to eat or cook something at home?
DECISION MAKING	Your room needs to be clean by the time our guests arrive Sunday at 2. You decide how and when to get it dome by then.
PROBLEM SOLVING	Develop a menu that fits your budget.
GOAL SETTING	Set small goals for academic achievement or even for physical fitness.
SELF REGULATION	Use a keyword when children act out and give them opportunites to self-regulate and demonstrate positive behaviors.
SELF ADVOCACY	The student chooses a cause and gets involved in the community.
INTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROL	Give age appropriate choices, so the child has some control.
SELF EFFICACY	Positively reinforce new skills and even unscuccessful attempts, as part of the process.
SELF AWARENESS	Have the child articulate the impact of their disability using a strengths-based approach to explain support needs.

Families can also help their child use Charting the LifeCourse mentioned above. This focuses on 6 domains: 

1. Daily life and employment
2. Community living
3. Safety and security
4. Social and spirituality
5. Healthy living
6. Advocacy and engagement

Students with disabilities benefit from the support of families to build and practice new skills, and Parent Centers can help families with self-determination for their child. •

Special thanks to Sean Roy of TransCen and Dr. John McNaught of I'm Determined.

SETTING GOALS : TRANSITIONING TO ADULT LIFE

RAISE CENTER

"Supporting Families to Focus on Student Self-Determination" Webinar recording (includes Spanish, ASL, captioning) and handouts raisecenter.org/supporting-families-to-focus-on-student-self-determination

TRANSCEN

transcen.org

LIFECOURSE NEXUS

Charting the Life Course — Family Perspective (tools) lifecoursetools.com/lifecourse-library/foundational-tools/family-perspective

I'M DETERMINED

imdetermined.org Resources for families imdetermined.org/families Student Involvement in the IEP imdetermined.org/tool/student-involvement-in-the-iep-modules

PARENT CENTERS

parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center

FAMILY VOICES

Family-to-Family Health Information Centers familyvoices.org

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lauren Agoratus, M.A. is the NJ Coordinator for Family Voices, NJ Regional Coordinator for the Family-to-Family Health Information Center, and Product Development Coordinator for RAISE (Resources for Advocacy, Independence, Self-Determination, and Employment). She also serves as NJ representative for the Caregiver Community Action Network as a volunteer. Nationally, Lauren has served on the Center for Dignity in Healthcare for People with Disabilities transplant committee (antidiscrimination), Center for Health Care Strategies Medicaid Workgroup on Family Engagement, Family Advisor for Children & Youth with Special Health Care Needs National Research Network, National Quality Forum-Pediatric Measures Steering Committee, and Population Health for Children with Medical Complexity Project-UCLA. She has written blogs and articles nationally, including publications in two academic journals (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=agoratus+l). Lauren was named a Hero Advocate by Exceptional Parent Magazine (epmagazine.com) Archives June 2022.