Developing Self-Determination

One of the blogs I subscribe to is from Brookes Publishing Co.  A recent post was listing strategies for helping children strengthen their self-determination skills.  Although the post was adapted from the book, Getting the Most out of IEPs, by Colleen A. Thoma & Paul Wehman, I thought that there were some good ideas for all students and I've adapted three of them

below to suit my audience. Some apply to younger children and others to older.  You choose.

Just as students need frequent practice with math or literacy skills, they also need daily practice to develop the skills that provide a foundation for self-determination.

1. Offer choices: It could be allowing children to choose where they do their homework (with some limitations based on expectations you have shared); it could be as small as letting them choose the writing implement they want to use to complete the homework.  Let them decide what goes on the checklist described in the previous post (End of Day Buddy System).  With any action, you can start by offering two options and gradually increase the choices.  
2. Model decision-making:  When you're making a decision, talk through it with your children; let them hear the thought-processes that you use to make decisions.  A Pros and Cons list is a great way to help them see what goes into decision-making.
3. Follow-up: When they've made a decision, talk with them about what was good or not so good about the decision they made.  What would they do differently if they could do this again? You can do some follow-up-modeling yourself after a fairly major decision has been made.