Self-Determination and Transition Planning

Debra Hart is the Director of the Education and Transition Team for the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She serves as the Principal Investigator for the NIDRR funded Center on Postsecondary Education for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, the ADD funded Consortium on Postsecondary Education for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities and Office of Postsecondary Education funded National Coordinating Center. Debra has over 25 years of experience working with youth and adults with disabilities, their families, faculty, and professionals that support youth in becoming contributing valued members of their community via participation in inclusive secondary and postsecondary education, and competitive employment. Since 1997, Ms. Hart has directed five federal grants designed to create access to postsecondary education for youth with intellectual disabilities.

Self-determination has a powerful positive impact on post-school outcomes for young adults with disabilities—but how can educators teach students the skills they need to make their own choices and achieve their goals as they enter adulthood? Packed with practical, research-validated guidance on explicitly teaching self-determination skills , this book helps educators support students in communicating their interests and needs, setting and reaching goals, and managing their own lives.