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young adult. In addition to examining <strong>the</strong> impact of guardianship, it was anticipated that <strong>the</strong> young adults who participated in this study would affirm an assumption that a schoolaged young adult with developmental disability who had full legal guardian appointed would exhibit few, if any, self-determination skills in comparison to a peer who did not have a guardian. Surprisingly, this was not <strong>the</strong> case. As a result, <strong>the</strong> findings of <strong>the</strong>se case studies extend <strong>the</strong> research by providing <strong>the</strong> first examination of how guardians, legal or o<strong>the</strong>rwise, impact <strong>the</strong> self-determination opportunities for school-aged young adults with developmental disabilities. Despite <strong>the</strong> importance of family and teacher efforts to promote self-determination of young adults, o<strong>the</strong>r forces (e.g., school administrator, service providers) at times impeded <strong>the</strong>m, as was seen with Kevin. This finding that a teacher (transition coordinator) actively promoted <strong>the</strong> development of students’ self-determination skills contrasts <strong>the</strong> findings of <strong>the</strong> Wehmeyer, Agran, and Hughes (2000) and Katsyannis, Zhang, Woodruff, and Dixon (2005) studies where teachers realized <strong>the</strong> importance of self-determination skills, but did not necessarily teach <strong>the</strong>m. A concern raised in this study, ra<strong>the</strong>r, is <strong>the</strong> disconnect observed between <strong>the</strong> school administrator’s perception of Kevin’s competence and <strong>the</strong> parents’ values and teacher’s role in helping <strong>the</strong> student demonstrate his abilities. It was almost as if <strong>the</strong> fact that Kevin had a developmental disability, <strong>the</strong> administrator assumed incompetence. Turnbull and Turnbull (2001) suggested that individuals with developmental disabilities most likely will require ongoing support from o<strong>the</strong>rs to experience a quality life. Unfortunately, in this study it appeared that Kevin and his parents would be challenged with building alliances that would enable Kevin to be self-determined. Although <strong>the</strong> transition coordinator and families are applauded for teaching self-determination skills, a need exists to work on such skill development within a larger context, beyond <strong>the</strong> school building. Teaching students self-determination skills (e.g., making choices) is important, but perhaps more important is ensuring significant o<strong>the</strong>rs, including personal assistants from community agencies, acknowl- 290 / Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities-September 2008 edge and respect <strong>the</strong> students’ communication. It has been argued that individuals with disabilities have had limited influence over <strong>the</strong>ir lives and conversely have had <strong>the</strong>ir lives unnecessarily controlled by o<strong>the</strong>rs (Lisi et al.), and as a result, a cycle of dependency and less independence may be created. Kevin’s parents made substantial effort to establish environments where <strong>the</strong>ir son could express and fur<strong>the</strong>r develop his self-determination skills, however Kevin’s expressions were stifled, even in his own home. This finding is in contrast to a study conducted by Wehmeyer, Kelchner, and Richards (1995) who found that adults with developmental disabilities who lived independently were more self-determined than individuals who lived in group homes. The findings from this study are more aligned with <strong>the</strong> results from <strong>the</strong> Wehmeyer and Metzler (1995) study were adults with developmental disabilities indicated that <strong>the</strong>y had limited control over important life choices and decisions. Wehmeyer and Metzler concluded that people with developmental disabilities may be in environments that are overly structured or protective and do not place emphasis on opportunities to make meaningful choices and decisions and solve problems. This study has also brought to light that ‘guardian’ may be interpreted in a variety of ways. If not having a guardian means an individual is living a life based on <strong>the</strong>ir values, preferences, and choices without external forces, Kevin had a guardian, and in fact several – <strong>the</strong>y just were not court appointed. Many of <strong>the</strong> decisions he attempted to communicate (e.g., desire for a cola instead of milk), although not life critical, were not honored. For Jack, who had a legal guardian, it was clear to whom he interacted with that he made many decisions. Jack was exercising selfdetermination, even with <strong>the</strong> fact he had a legal guardian. The findings from this study for one individual, Jack, suggest that guardian appointments may not impact <strong>the</strong> day to day decision-making of some individuals. His parents admitted that <strong>the</strong>y have not needed to use <strong>the</strong>ir legal authority, however, since <strong>the</strong>y became legal guardians three years earlier. As a point of caution, Jack’s situation may be exceptional in that he had a family network to support him which contrasts findings found in
literature, mostly to do with <strong>the</strong> elderly, where abuse and misuse of guardian powers were observed (Lisi et al., 1994). Jack’s situation fur<strong>the</strong>r reflects <strong>the</strong> finding of a study conducted by Stancliffe et al. (2000) who found that some adults with guardians displayed self-determination competencies that were as good or better than o<strong>the</strong>rs who had not been assigned a guardian. The authors suggested that perhaps <strong>the</strong> self-determination skills of some individuals steadily increased over time as a result of experiences. They also suggested that in <strong>the</strong>se situations courts should reevaluate guardian appointments or responsibilities, and cautioned that if too much time is taken to reconsider guardian roles, <strong>the</strong>n a ward’s motivation to exhibit self-determination may decrease, or potentially deteriorate. It is possible for individuals to petition <strong>the</strong> court to modify or remove guardian appointments. An interesting finding about Jack’s situation is that <strong>the</strong> parents were adamant about family taking care of family. Curiously, <strong>the</strong>y did not seem to view <strong>the</strong> court’s authority, annual reports <strong>the</strong>y had to submit to <strong>the</strong> judge, or social worker home visits as intrusions. It has been suggested that families need to have access to information to make informed choices regarding guardianship (Millar, 2003; Millar & Renzaglia, 2002). In addition to this information, each family has to have individualized support and guidance by school personnel. Although Jack’s family believed <strong>the</strong>y were informed, <strong>the</strong>y had at times inaccurate or incomplete information. For example, medical issues, a main reason for filing a petition for <strong>the</strong>ir son, may have sufficiently been taken care of in different ways (e.g., ‘next of kin,’ ‘power of attorney,’ ‘emergency/temporary guardianship). Alternatives could have been explored (see Millar, 2007 for potential alternatives), hence reducing <strong>the</strong> need for <strong>the</strong>m to write reports for <strong>the</strong> courts, and unnecessarily limiting <strong>the</strong>ir son’s legal rights. Because legal issues can be confusing and complex, it is essential that members of <strong>the</strong> judiciary (e.g., probate clerks who register guardian petitions, attorneys, judges) learn about self-determination initiatives and ways <strong>the</strong>y too can support individuals with disabilities to remain autonomous. Perhaps members of <strong>the</strong> judiciary, ei<strong>the</strong>r prior to or at <strong>the</strong> time a petition for guardianship is filed with <strong>the</strong> courts, can work with families to ensure <strong>the</strong>y understand what guardianship entails and its alternatives. Limitations and Future Research Ideas Although this study provides important new information, and used sound strategies for conducting quality case studies (e.g., prolonged observations, members checking, triangulation of data), <strong>the</strong>re are limitations. For example, in <strong>the</strong> selection of participants, it is possible that <strong>the</strong>y are not representative of students in similar situations, hence restricting <strong>the</strong> ability to generalize <strong>the</strong> findings. A case study approach was used, however, because exploration in this area of self-determination in relation to guardianship for young adults is new. It is anticipated that <strong>the</strong> lessons learned from this study will help with designing future research endeavors where larger numbers of individuals can have <strong>the</strong> opportunity to participate and have <strong>the</strong>ir voices heard. In addition, this study has acted as a catalyst by raising several questions that could be addressed in future research initiatives. For example, how, if at all, has IDEA impacted <strong>the</strong> number of young adults having a guardian appointed? If a student’s competence is a concern, <strong>the</strong>n to what extent are IEP present level of functional performance statements, goals, and objectives addressing this concern? When educators and service providers learn of guardian appointments, does <strong>the</strong>ir respect for and actions toward <strong>the</strong> individual with <strong>the</strong> disability change, and if so how? Ano<strong>the</strong>r question to investigate is how prevalent is it that families petition courts at <strong>the</strong> time a student becomes of legal age? Does <strong>the</strong> awareness that a young adult with a disability who has been appointed a guardian lead to that individual becoming less likely to attempt to demonstrate self-determination attributes, or was Jack’s situation an exception? O<strong>the</strong>r questions could relate to how often guardian appointments are modified or revoked if families realize that alternatives to guardian appointments can be used. Awhile ago Halpern (1994) wrote “if <strong>the</strong> transition process is to be successful, it must begin with helping students to gain a sense of empowerment with respect to <strong>the</strong>ir own tran- Self-Determination and Guardianship / 291
Page 1 and 2: Education and Training in Developme
Page 7 and 8: Self-Determination in Relation to H
Page 9 and 10: ticipants (a) believed the<
Page 11 and 12: Field notes were used to document <
Page 13 and 14: ling information, medical history a
Page 15 and 16: Home. Jack lived with his mo<strong
Page 17: we felt strongly that we needed inf
Page 21 and 22: tion? The national consumer survey.
Page 23 and 24: Figure 1. Proposed intersection of
Page 25 and 26: teaching in each program for five y
Page 27 and 28: also used to support and challenge
Page 29 and 30: Despite Paula’s description of an
Page 31 and 32: The paraprofessionals at Harborvill
Page 33 and 34: Figure 2. Resultant intersection of
Page 35 and 36: learning opportunities relevant to
Page 37 and 38: Bouck, E. C. (2005). Service delive
Page 39 and 40: Thirty Year Review of Safety Skill
Page 41 and 42: TABLE 1 Safety Skill Studies Refere
Page 43 and 44: TABLE 1—(Continued) Reference Par
Page 45 and 46: found differences only in efficienc
Page 47 and 48: skill for integrating persons with
Page 49 and 50: treatment of a burn) may take sever
Page 51 and 52: created video programs to teach stu
Page 53 and 54: and on-schedule behavior and decrea
Page 55 and 56: TABLE 1—(Continued) Author(s) Mor
Page 57 and 58: trums, aggression) in a four-year-o
Page 59 and 60: (Quill, 1995). Furthe</stro
Page 61 and 62: following picture prompt training.
Page 63 and 64: medication, for example anticonvuls
Page 65 and 66: TABLE 1 Number of Facilities That U
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Kapell, D., Nightingale, B., Rodrig
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ity being on the c
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communication turns (i.e., initiati
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Definitions of Target Behaviors and
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student gave the p
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Figure 2. Bob’s performance data.
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contact increased 41% from baseline
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Figure 5. Eric’s performance data
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Figure 6. Jen’s performance data.
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to students with severe disabilitie
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The use of arm splints has been suc
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Figure 1. Intervention results for
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sions, he engaged in hand mouthing
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Effects of a Reciprocal Questioning
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4-45). Because the
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TABLE 2 Codes of Student Question G
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TABLE 3 Examples of Elements of a S
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Figure 2. Self-monitoring checklist
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TABLE 4 Example Question Words, Thi
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Figure 4. Frequency of prompted and
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Figure 5. Frequency of unprompted s
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their children to
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and lack of random selection makes
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prehension-monitoring activities. C
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all three participants who passed b
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TABLE 2 Leisure Activities Used in
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papers were removed and the
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was 68% (range 42% to 83%). In <str
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Teaching Test-taking Strategies to
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ing experiences beginning at <stron
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short essay question. Items were ei
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plication of the t
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Figure 2. Percent correct on <stron
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aseline probes, data were highly va
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