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VIDBE-Q Volume 63 Issue 2
Lanya L. McKittrick
Student
University of Northern Colorado
mcki9421@bears.unco.edu
Silvia M. Correa-Torres
Professor
University of Northern Colorado
silvia.correa-Torres@unco.edu
Self-determination skills need to be learned early in life if students with disabilities
are to become self-determined young adults (Wehmeyer & Palmer, 2000; Wehmeyer,
Sands, Doll, & Palmer, 1997). However, there is limited research about teaching self-
determination skills in elementary school (Cho, Wehmeyer, & Kingston, 2011; Palmer &
Wehmeyer, 2003). Until this decade, self-determination research has primarily been
focused on exploring the importance of self-determination for students with disabilities.
The focus of research has now shifted to strategies and barriers to teaching self-
determination and the benefits of teaching it earlier.
Teachers' perceptions of self-determination have been shown to vary based upon
disability category (Cho et al., 2012). However, there is very little self-determination
research focused on any one disability group. Only a few researchers have studied the
importance of self-determination for students with sensory disabilities, and most are
focused on students who are deaf or hard of hearing (Luckner & Muir, 2002; Luckner &
Sebald, 2013; Sebald, 2013). No studies could be located that focus on teaching self-
determination to students with sensory loss in elementary school. The purpose of this
qualitative study was to gain an understanding of how self-determination skills that are
Teaching Self-Determination Skills to Elementary
Students with Sensory Loss
