Self-determination and choice.

Matson et al. (2013) wrote a narrative review. They looked at many studies on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The goal was to see if giving choices helps these individuals.

They did not run a new experiment. Instead they summed up what earlier work said about self-determination.

The review says promoting choice is best practice. When staff build in daily choices, people with IDD gain control over their lives.

The paper does not give numbers. It simply states that choice should be standard in every program.

Armas Junco et al. (2025) extends this idea. They tracked adults who moved to community homes. More daily choice, not the move itself, raised self-determination scores six months later.

Navas et al. (2025) also extends the review. In a large quasi-experiment, adults who kept getting real choices after leaving institutions showed very-large quality-of-life gains.

Friedman (2023) adds a safety angle. Each extra unit of service choice cut injuries by about one third in 251 people. The review called choice best practice; these studies show why it works and what it protects.

You can act today. Add small choice points to every routine: which shirt, which seat, which song. The evidence chain shows these moments build autonomy, well-being, and even keep people safer. Start with two extra choices in the next session and grow from there.