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Lorem Ipsum Dolor Spring 2016
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more nebulous concept than many of the other domains of the ECC,
teachers might not be giving self-determination a fair shake. Think
of the time and effort students put in learning assistive technology
and orientation and mobility. Do
they log equal hours exercising
their right to self-determination? Research shows that they do not.
Based on the results of their 2004 study, Robinson and Lieberman
concluded that "opportunities for self-determination
are not being
adequately provided to students with visual impairments" (p.363).
Agran, Snow and Swaner (1999) found that although 77% of
teachers they surveyed believed self-determination was either
"important" or "very important" for their students' well-being, 55%
left self-determination skills off some or all of their IEPs. In addition,
59% of teachers felt that actually discussing self-determination with
their students was either "not important" or "moderately important".
Furthermore, it has been shown that students with visual
impairments generally lack autonomy (compared to their sighted
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