Online ISSN: 2325-7466
2006
Triannual
National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET)
United States

Articles

Social Skill and Self-Advocacy Goals: An IEP Study

  • Gregory W. Smith, Ph.D. (Author) The University of Southern Mississippi image/svg+xml
    Gregory W. Smith, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education. Dr. Smith earned his Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction – Special Education from Clemson University. Prior to pursuing his doctorate, Dr. Smith was a special education teacher in the public school system of New Jersey. Dr. Smith’s research interests include high-incidence disabilities, cognition, memory, and lived experiences. Dr. Smith teaches courses that prepare pre-service teachers to utilize and implement evidence-based practices in the classroom.
  • K. Alisa Lowrey, Ph.D. (Author) The University of Southern Mississippi
    Alisa Lowrey, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the University of Southern Mississippi. She is a special educator with more than 25 years experience working primarily with individuals with developmental disabilities while also preparing others to work in this field. Her research includes teacher education, training and evaluation; inclusive educational practices including postsecondary practices for students with developmental disabilities including autism; and designing quality, individualized curricula to include the application of Universal Design for Learning. Dr. Lowrey has been Principal Investigator of several grants and contracts including a DOE TPSID grant and the Louisiana Autism Spectrum and Related Disabilities statewide autism project. Dr. Lowrey currently serves as the co-Editor of FOCUS on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities.
  • David Walker, Ed.D. (Author) The University of Southern Mississippi
    David Walker, Ed.D. retired as an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education at the University of Southern Mississippi in 2017.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.388
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine if self-advocacy and social skills were targeted areas of instruction on a collected sample of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). We also measured student attendance at IEP meetings as a potential step towards self-avocation. Utilizing secondary analysis with data collected from 170 IEPs, we examined IEPs for the inclusion of social skill and self-advocacy goals as well as student attendance at the IEP. Findings indicated that while social skills and self-advocacy goals were included, many of those goals were of poor quality in target and measurability. Student attendance at the IEP was documented at an extraordinarily high rate for this sample. Discussion of these items as well as their implication for future practice is included.
Keywords
Educational Legislation, Elementary Secondary Education, Equal Education, Federal Legislation, Goal Orientation, Individualized Education Programs
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How to Cite
Smith, G. W., Lowrey, K. A., & Walker, D. (2019). Social Skill and Self-Advocacy Goals: An IEP Study. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, 14(1), 115-130. https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.388

Winter 2019

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  • Article Type Articles
  • Submitted January 17, 2019
  • Published February 15, 2019
  • Issue Winter 2019
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