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Foundations For Self-Determination In Early Childhood: An Inclusive Model For Children With Disabilities, Susan B. Palmer, Jean Ann Summers, Mary Jane Brotherson, Elizabeth Erwin, Susan P. Maude, Vera Stroup-Rentier, Hsiang Yi Wu, Nancy F. Peck, Yuzhu Zheng, Cindy J. Weigel, Szu Yin Chu, Greg S. Mcgrath, Shana J. Haines

Department of Teaching and Learning Scholarship and Creative Works

This article introduces the Early Childhood Foundations Model for Self-Determination and provides a rationale for the need to consider the foundations of self-determination behavior that begin early in life. This model is based on the premise that young children with disabilities benefit from a collaborative partnership between important adults in the lives of children to provide a supportive, stimulating, and coordinated environment between inclusive classrooms and home settings. Within partnership, the Foundations Model establishes the proposition that the basic foundational skills for developing self-determination in later life require young children with disabilities to gain skills in (a) choice-making and problem …