2. Convention on Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD)
Article 19: Living independently and being included in the community
People with disabilities have the equal right to live in the community. Measures shall be taken to facilitate full enjoyment of this right and their full inclusion and participation in the community through access to services to support living and inclusion in the community, and to prevent isolation from it
Russian Federation ratified CRPD in 2012

3. What Do We Mean by Social Inclusion?
Living and feeling included in the community
Beyond a physical presence & involves
Developing and maintaining reciprocal social relationships
Having a rich social network that includes people beyond members of your family
Engaging in daily activities in and outside of the home
Having valued social roles and feeling valued by others
Employment and other meaningful activities (including leisure and advocacy activities)
Feeling that you belong
Hall 2009; Power 2013; McConkey and Collins, 2010a

4. What Do We Mean by Social Inclusion?
Cobigo, V., Ouellette-Kuntz, H., Lysaght, R., & Martin, L. (2012) defined social inclusion as a person
having a sense of belonging in a social network within which they receive and contribute support;
experiencing a valued social role, and
being trusted to perform that social role in the community

5. Social/Community Inclusion
Being part of your community rather than just living in the community i.e., Living a life that has meaning

6. Beneficiaries of Social/Community Inclusion
Most often, the beneficiary is the person with an intellectual and developmental disability. BUT…
Beneficiaries may also include
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities as a group and
Members of society more broadly.

7. Social Inclusion Outcomes
People with IDD continue to experience high rates of social isolation (Bigby, 2008; Forrester-Jones et al., 2006; Milner & Kelly 2009; Robertson et al., 2001)
Their social networks are:
Smaller
Less diverse, and
Composed mainly of family members and professionals (Lippold & Burns, 2009).

8. Self-Determination: An Operational Definition
Self-determination refers to individuals exercising the degree of personal control/causal agency over their lives that they desire within those areas of life that are important to them.
Abery & Stancliffe (2003)

9. Self-Determination & Personal Control How are they are different?
Shared Control
Most individuals do not desire to have complete control but wish to share it in some areas with trusted others.
Ceding Control to Others
In some areas of life a person may not particularly value having control and voluntarily cede it to others.
In other areas they may voluntarily cede control because they do not have the skills to make informed decisions
Individual Differences/Change Across Time
Areas of life over which personal control is valued are different for each person and typically change over time.

10. What is Self-Determination?
Control over day-to-day decisions
what to wear
what to eat
what time to go to bed
Control over long-term decisions
where and with whom to live
where to work
What type of work to do

11. Tripartite Model of Self-Determination
Changes over
TIME
Exercise of Control
Importance
Desired
Degree
of Control
Self-Determination

12. Self-Determination Competencies Persons with Intellectual Disabilities
Knowledge
Resources & the System
Laws, Rights and Responsibilities
Self-Awareness
Preferences & Non-preferences
Available Options
Self-Determination Competencies
Attitudes/Beliefs
Internal Locus of Control
Self-Esteem/Acceptance
Sense of Self-Efficacy
Determination
Feeling Valued by Others
Skills
Goal Setting
Choice/Decision-Making
Problem-Solving
Self-Regulation
Communication
Social
Independent Living

13. Self-Determination Competencies
Self-Determination: An Ecological Process
Person
Self-Determination Competencies
Skills
Attitudes/Beliefs
Knowledge
Macrosystem
Family
Microsystem
School/Work
Peer Group
Exosystem
Mesosystem
Residential
Exercise of Control
Desired
Degree
of Control
Importance
SELF-DETERMINATION
Changes over Time

14. Research on Self-Determination
Children & youth with ID of all ages (as well as adults with ID) experience fewer opportunities for SD than their same age peers with other disabilities and their peers without disabilities
Children & youth with ID of all ages (as well as adults with ID) experience lower levels of SD than their same age peers with other disabilities and their peers without disabilities
Opportunities for SD as well as levels of SD among children and youth tend to be similar across siblings with and without disabilities

15. What Does the Research Say
Higher levels of SD have been associated with…
Higher levels of quality of Life
Greater social inclusion
Greater involvement in community activities
More likely to have friends
More likely to have supportive social network (social capital)
More positive work outcomes
More likely to be employed
More likely to find employment in inclusive setting
More likely to have benefits with job
More likely to be satisfied with employment

16. What Does the Research Say
Better academic outcomes
Higher probability of finishing school
Greater likelihood of being successful in inclusive settings
More likely to be successful academically

17. Self-Determination
Anid3kC2w

18. Social Inclusion, Self-Determination & Service Models
Increased social inclusion and self-determination are unlikely to occur when supports provided via a Medical Model with a focus on deficits and defects
Supports Framework focuses more on the capacities, and gifts of persons with disability
Disability as diversity
Focus on supports rather than disability related challenges

19. Supporting Social Inclusion & Self-Determination
Social inclusion and Self-determination do not happen automatically (at least at this point)
Efforts to support these outcomes must be intentional
As people with intellectual disabilities move from larger to smaller community settings we must also be careful to avoid creating a situation in which individuals experience:
Greater isolation and loneliness;
Less choice in their social relationships than they already experience
Lower levels of self-determination due to lack of access & lack of support

20. Supporting Self-Determination & Social Inclusion
Many keys to supporting positive outcomes in these areas including
Foster the development of social capital
Develop & support self-advocacy groups
Avoid being overprotective…”allow people to fail” ( and learn from the experience)
Provide opportunities for choice and control on an ongoing basis
Identify and mentor community champions

21. Social Capital
The extent to which an individual is connected to others, e.g. friends, colleagues, etc., and the level to which the relationships are reciprocal and based on mutual trust (Allik & Realo, 2004)
There are three types of resources that constitute social capital:
instrumental (help with taking care of a pet)
emotional (talking about a problem with a friend)
informational (information about job openings)
(Condeluci et al., 2008)

22. Social Capital cont. We can differentiate two types of social capital:
Bonding social capital refers to relationships with others who have similar psychosocial characteristics, interests, and engage in similar activities
Bridging social capital is based on relationships with people who have different characteristics, skills, perspectives, and involvement in other activities
(Walker et al., 2011)

23. Social Capital Outcomes
Access to social capital has been linked to many benefits, including improved:
Health
Behavioral outcomes
Educational outcomes
Living situation
Employment
Self-determination
Independence
(Condeluci et al., 2008)

25. A Final Thought
Frances Hodgson Burnett

26. University of Minnesota
Institute on Community Integration (ICI)
Global Resource Center on Inclusive Education (GRC)
Brian Abery, Ph.D.
Renáta Tichá, Ph.D.