Understanding self-determination as a crucial component in promoting the distinct value of occupational therapy in post-secondary transition planning

ABSTRACT

School-based occupational therapists are well-equipped to prepare adolescents to transition from the education system to work and live in their communities, but they report challenges in securing their place on post-secondary transition planning teams. We argue that occupational therapists’ efforts to advocate for their role in post-secondary transition could be strengthened by a deeper engagement with what is considered “best practice” in transition planning: improving students’ ability and opportunity to exercise self-determination. In this commentary, we review the self-determination evidence-base; identify congruence between the underlying philosophies of self-determination and occupational therapy; and highlight gaps in existing self-determination models that occupational therapists are uniquely posed to fill by focusing on self-determination as they support transition age students.

KEYWORDS:

• Self-determination
• transition
• post-secondary
• adolescent

Acknowledgments

NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this column do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the NIDILRR, ACL, HHS, or NCMRR/NICHD/NINDS/NIH, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

Notes

^1. The Individualized Education Program (IEP) team is made up of the student, their parents or caregivers, and educators and professionals who collaboratively create the IEP, a legally binding document outlining the student’s current levels of performance, goals, and needed services and supports (U.S. Department of Education, 2004).

^2. We note the similarity to occupational therapy interventions (Kramer et al., 2014; Polatajko, Mandich, Miller, & Macnab, 2001).

Additional information

Funding

The writing of this column was made possible by support from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) grant 90AR5023; and grants 90DP0026 and 90DPAD0001 (The Americans with Disabilities Act Participation Action Research Consortium (ADA PARC): Advancing participation equity for people with disabilities). The writing of this column was also made possible by support from the National Center Medical Rehabilitation Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/National Institute Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health (K12 HD055931).