Laura T. Eisenman

“How Come Nobody Told Me?” Fostering Self‐Realization Through a High School English Curriculum

Through collaboratively designed qualitative inquiry, we investigated the responses of high school students with learning disabilities to a teacher’s intervention intended to promote self-realization, a fundamental component of self-determination. Activities were embedded within the general English curriculum and delivered in a special education classroom over the course of an academic year. Several themes emerged from analysis of student interviews, student responses to writing prompts and surveys, a teacher journal, and student portfolio pieces. Silence and misconceptions were prevalent in student experiences. However, through the intervention students acquired information that helped them make sense of their school experiences, redefine themselves in positive ways, and take small steps toward greater self-advocacy within their current school setting. The mediating influence of positive adult voices and concerns about social stigma were evident in students’ responses, which prompted us to question teachers’ and families’ responsibilities for engaging young people in dialogue about special education and disability.

Characteristics and Effects of Integrated Academic and Occupational Curricula for Students with Disabilities: A Literature Review

Current legislation and education reforms suggest that all students would benefit from participation in curricula that integrate academic and occupational learning. Evidence of the effectiveness of integrating academic and occupational curricula for students with disabilities is examined through a review of research. Best practice reviews, case studies, and program evaluations offer only indirect evidence of effects for students with disabilities. Some evaluations suggest that programs incorporating integrated curricula increased academic achievement and persistence. Methodological and conceptual issues must be addressed in future research to promote a better understanding of benefits for students with disabilities.

“I Think I’m Reaching My Potential” Students’ Self-Determination Experiences in an Inclusive High School

Through a 5-year qualitative case study of an inclusive high school, we examined students’ experiences of self-determination. We conducted analyses of multiple interviews with students, parents, teachers, guidance staff, and administrators using grounded theory methods and guided by self-determination conceptual frameworks. Explicit expectations for student agency, a network of caring autonomy-supportive adults, and integrated academic supports emerged as primary features of the students’ school experiences. We describe the participants’ perspectives about the school structures that supported those experiences and highlight three students who represented a range of responses to the school’s model of inclusive learning supports. Implications for fostering self-determination of adolescents with disabilities within general education school settings are considered.

Focus on Friendship: Relationships, Inclusion, and Social Well-Being

Friendships are a key to social well-being for people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. Having a variety of social relationships is important, yet friendships have a unique role in people’s lives. Studies about the perspectives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities note the added value they assign to friendship versus familial and other relationships. Unfortunately, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities typically experience less social-connectedness and fewer intimate relationships than peers without disabilities. Aligned with positive psychology and disability studies frameworks, this chapter examines practices that create opportunities for friendship based on a strengths-based perspective, account for individual choice and agency across a range of capabilities, and value disability as a natural part of human diversity.

The HAWK Highway A Vertical Model for Student IEP Participation

Special educators at an inclusive career-technical high school created a model to support annually increasing expectations for self-determination and levels of student participation in Individualized Education Program (IEP) planning and implementation. The grade-specific components of the model and supporting context are described. Students were observed to gain confidence in IEP participation and extend their self-advocacy into the classroom, within a model that reinforced a schoolwide focus on successful school–to–adult life transitions. Elements of the model that can be applied in other school settings are discussed.