Project Description:
Research shows that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) have limited opportunities to become more self-determined (Wehmeyer & Field, 2007) and find themselves in settings that are unresponsive to their efforts to be self determined (Wehmeyer & Bolding, 1999). This is problematic, in that research has also established a link between self-determination status and more positive post-secondary outcomes (Palmer & Wehmeyer, 2003; Wehmeyer & Schwartz, 1997) and improved quality of life (Wehmeyer & Schwartz, 1998; Lachapelle et al, 2005). Recently, Wehmeyer and colleagues (in press) provided causal evidence with transition-age students with disabilities that efforts to promote self-determination result in enhanced self-determination. Given that enhanced self-determination is linked to more positive adult outcomes, there remains a significant need for research to validate the efficacy of interventions that promote self-determination.
One intervention that shows promise to enhance self-determination and impact career and employment outcomes for adults with I/DD is The Self-Determined Career Development Model (Wehmeyer, Lattimore, et al., 2003)(SDCDM). The SDCDM is a self-directed process using a three-phase problem-solving strategy in which a facilitator supports a person with a disability to identify and set a career or employment goal, develop an action plan to achieve that goal, and self-monitor and self-evaluate progress toward the goal, revising the action plan or goal as needed. In each phase, facilitators support participants to solve a problem by answering four questions, each of which comprises the steps in the problem-solving process. The SDCDM is based upon a similar school-based model, the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction, which has been shown to causally impact student attainment of academic and transition goals and enhance self-determination. Wehmeyer, Lattimore, and colleagues (2003) pilot tested the SDCDM with adults with disabilities in the vocational rehabilitation system, and found that 4 of 5 participants made progress on their self-set employment goal as evidenced by a measure of goal attainment. In addition, a participant satisfaction survey indicated that most participants felt that they had gained from their experience with the model. Benitez, Lattimore, and Wehmeyer (2005) implemented the SDCDM with adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders and, using a single-subject research design, showed that all participants made progress toward each of their goals when receiving support through the model. Additionally, all participants reported that they achieved their target goals and were satisfied with the support that the model provided. This project implements a cluster or group-randomized trial, modified equivalent control group time series design (Cook & Campbell, 1976; Murray, 1998)to evaluate the efficacy of the model on employment outcomes. This design involves the random assignment of the appropriate experimental unitsin this case, Senate Bill 40 Boardsto either a treatment or control group. Year 1 of the study involves, essentially, a pretest-posttest control group design study and will provide data testing the impact of the SDCDM on multiple dependent variables
Keyword(s):
self-determination, employment, SDCDM, goal setting
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Geographic Areas, Rural/Remote
