Self-Determination: Construct vs. Practice
The self-determination construct has received a great deal of attention both in theory and in practice and is highly valued by people with disabilities, their families, and the professionals supportin...
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Collection Technology for Self-Determination
Date Created: 2/27/2017
Posts: 3
The goal of this collection is to explore the concept of self-determination and the role of technology in enabling us to communicate and demonstrate self-determined behavior, and how we are approaching this challenge at Cognitopia. Although we are not focused on augmentative communication per se, in our development work we've seen how self-management applications can communicate information about personal choices, preferences, and needs in a way that fosters effective self-advocacy and personal control over one's life.
Tom is co-founder and CEO of Cognitopia, home of the Cognitopia Connect platform for life management applications for individuals with cognitive disabilities. He is also an Adjunct Research Associate in the Computer and Information Sciences Department of the University of Oregon. Tom has been focused for the past 20 years on research and development of self-management and community living applications for individuals with cognitive disabilities including autism, intellectual disabilities, traumatic brain injury, and cognitive decline due to aging. He developed the Picture Planner™ visual calendaring system and the ScanDo video modeling application and has been principal investigator on over 20 federally-funded technology development projects with over 10 million dollars in funding. His perspective in all of his work has been strongly influenced by his experience of over 30 years as a caregiver for a brother who experienced autism.
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Cognitopia: Web-Based Software for Self-Direction
Our work at Cognitopia focuses on the development of web-based self-management applications to meet this need by both enhancing the ability of individuals with cognitive disabilities to take greater c...
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MyLife: IEP Self-Direction and Digital Storytelling
When we started the MyLife project, our focus was on the development of a cognitively accessible, multimedia ePortfolio that would function as a kind of online résumé with a person-centered planning s...
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Teachers:
Many teachers require their college students in communication disorders or child development classes to complete a Communication Matrix online. Please have your students use the Test Drive site for this purpose. You may ask them to print out the Profile and Communication Skills List as proof of their work.
Statement A
My child doesn't seem to have real control over his body yet.
The only way I know that he wants something is because he fusses or whines when he's unhappy or uncomfortable, and he smiles, makes noises or calms down when he's happy and comfortable. Does this statement describe your child?
Statement B
My child has control over her own behaviors, but she doesn't use them to try to communicate to me.
She doesn't come to me to let me know what she wants, but it's easy for me to figure out, because she tries to do things for herself. She knows what she wants, and her behavior shows me what she wants. If she runs out of something to eat, she will just try to get more, rather than trying to get me to give her more.
Does this statement describe your child?
Statement C
My child clearly tries to communicate his needs to me through gestures, sounds or language.
He knows how to get me to do something for him. He uses some of the kinds of behaviors below to communicate:
- Gestures such as pointing, shaking his head, tugging at my arm or looking back and forth between me and what he wants
- Sounds such as squealing to show you he wants something or fussing when he doesn't want something
- Language or symbolic forms of communication such as speech, written words, Braille, picture symbols, 3-dimensional symbols or sign language
Does this statement describe your child?
How to score your child
Each question you will see is related to a certain message that your child might be able to express using a variety of behaviors. Read the question and decide whether your child is able to express the message described using any of the listed behaviors. If the answer is YES, then you must also decide whether your child has mastered the use of each behavior or whether it is still at an emerging stage. Check either the mastered or emerging box next to any behaviors your child uses to express the message. Use the following definitions to decide whether a behavior is mastered or emerging
Mastered
– Does this independently most of the time when the opportunity arises
– Does this in a number of di erent contexts, and with di erent people
Emerging
– Does this inconsistently
–
Only does this when prompted or encouraged to do so. Only does this in one or two contexts or with one person.
Tips on Communication Devices
Each question you will see is related to a certain message that your child might be able to express using a variety of behaviors. Read the question and decide whether your child is able to express the message described using any of the listed behaviors. If the answer is YES, then you must also decide whether your child has mastered the use of each behavior or whether it is still at an emerging stage. Check either the mastered or emerging box next to any behaviors your child uses to express the message. Use the following definitions to decide whether a behavior is mastered or emerging
