| dc.description.abstract | Special education teachers and Board Certified Behavior Analysts play an important role in supporting the development of self-determination skills for children and youth with disabilities, including at the elementary level. This study used a web-based survey to evaluate the views of special education teachers and BCBAs on self-determination for elementary-aged children with complex communication needs. A total of 166 special education teachers and BCBAs participated. Special education teachers and BCBAs rated the importance of various domains of self-determination for children with complex communication needs and reported on the self-determination capacities and opportunities of individual children with complex communication needs that they served. Results indicated that special education teachers and BCBAs both reported high levels of importance for all domains of self-determination, with no significant differences between the two groups. However, when reporting on the capacities and opportunities of individual children, BCBAs’ ratings were significantly lower than special education teachers’ ratings. Children’s use of robust language-based communication systems (e.g., speech, sign, high-tech aided augmentative and alternative communication [AAC]) was found to be a significant factor associated with special education teachers’ ratings of students’ capacities and opportunities for self-determination, but not BCBAs. Implications for future research and practice are discussed, including those related to the need for practitioner support for creating goals that target self-determination. | en_US |
