Abstract
Promoting choice making has become an important focus of disability services and supports and a basic component in service delivery. Although much of the choice making literature has involved demonstrations that individuals with intellectual and severe intellectual disabilities can be taught to make choices, limited research exists on the types of choices individuals make and the extent to which these choices are supported. Further, input about choice making has ostensibly been obtained from service providers or support personnel and not from consumers themselves. This study examines input provided by consumers with varying support needs, served in different types of employment programs, on the choice-making opportunities they were provided, if their choices were supported, and if they thought choice making was important, among other questions. The implications of the findings are discussed.
Highlights
Choice making is regarded as the central element of self-determination [34]
We examined the extent to which and the types of choice-making opportunities were provided to a sample of employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities in competitive, supported, and sheltered employment programs across two states
A student transitioning from high school to adult life may have the understanding and skills to make the choice that she would like a supported employment placement, and supports are available from the school district for the individual to make an informed choice, but the adult service organization to which the student in transitioning to may have no supported employment supports available as they provide only sheltered work opportunities
Summary
Choice making is regarded as the central element of self-determination [34]. Self-determined individuals make choices, act on those choices, experience the results, and make new choices [17]. Providing choice-making opportunities allows individuals to select work tasks and jobs that best match their interests and capabilities, which, in turn, will promote greater engagement and motivation [20]. Self-determination is largely understood in terms of personal choice. As Agran and Martin [5] suggest, self-determined individuals choose their own goals and attempt to attain their goals by using self-selected strategies and supports. Promoting self-determination – promoting choice opportunities – has become an important focus of disability services and supports and a basic component in service delivery [30]. Providing individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities opportunities to express their preferences, make choices based on those preferences, and subsequently act on those choices are considered universal rights and entitlements since they have been historically denied to these individuals [8, 19, 31]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
