Parent assessments of self-determination importance and performance for students with autism or intellectual disability.

Carter et al. (2013) asked parents of kids with autism or intellectual disability two questions. How important are self-determination skills? How well is your child really doing on them?

They mailed a survey to families. Parents rated items like making choices, setting goals, and solving problems. They also shared child age, school setting, and behavior levels.

Every parent said self-determination is vital. Yet they scored their own children low on the same skills.

Child talkativeness and inclusion in general-ed classes pushed the scores a bit higher. Big behavior problems pushed them lower.

Moreira et al. (2025) later showed the flip side in adults. Better quality of life and fewer support needs predicted higher self-determination in grown-ups living in group homes. Together the papers draw one line: boost the environment and you boost the skill.

Reyes et al. (2019) looked further up the family tree. They found heavy caregiving burdens, not child skills, most strongly erode parent well-being. W et al. reminds us to keep teaching the child, but N et al. warns we must also lighten the parent load.

Reed et al. (2017) adds a caution flag. Stressed moms rate other parents’ limit-setting skills lower than observers do. The low self-determination scores in W et al. might partly mirror parent stress, not pure child deficit.

You can’t trust parent numbers at face value. Always pair surveys with direct skill checks. Then teach self-determination where it counts: at home. Send home choice boards, goal sheets, and problem-solving scripts. Ask parents to record short videos of their child using them. You will lift the skill and cut the gap between what families hope for and what they see.