title: Promoting self-determination and self-directed employment planning for young women with disabilities.
abstract: Self-determination, choice, and preference have become important issues in vocational rehabilitation and have long been staples of social work practice. This article provides an overview of a model, the self-determined career development model, which is designed to enable people with disabilities to self-direct planning that leads to employment. Specifically, this model is applied to young women with intellectual and developmental disabilities to obtain nontraditional employment through self-regulated, customized employment planning. This article examines issues pertaining to self-determination in the context of vocational guidance and planning, introduces the model and its use in secondary education and rehabilitation, and discusses the role of social workers in supporting consumer control and self-direction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Special Education, Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA. wehmeyer@ku.edu
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Wehmeyer
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Parent
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lattimore
authors.forename: Shea
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Obremski
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Poston
authors.forename: Harilyn
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rousso
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002321:Career Choice; D002658:Developmental Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D012050:Rehabilitation, Vocational / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult