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Examining The Meaning And Experience Of Self-Determination And Its Impact On Quality Of Life For Individuals With Cognitive Disabilities, Carol Marie Sundberg

Dissertations

There is a national agenda for advancing self-determination for persons with disabilities. Broadly defined, self-determination means having control over ones own life. The purpose of this research was to gain a better understanding of self-determination and its effect on the quality of life of persons with cognitive disabilities. A qualitative, phenomenological approach was selected. Ten individuals from a community mental health system in southwest Michigan participated in the study. Participants had a developmental disability and were dependent on others for their care. The research combined qualitative interviews with behavioral observations and proxy interviewing, and included the audiotaping of those interviews. …