The Arc's Self-Determination Scale: Procedural Guidelines

Social problem-solving, alternatively referred to as
interpersonal cognitive problem-solving, emphasizes cognitive and
behavioral strategies that enable individuals to interact with one
another and to cope in an increasingly social world. Much of the
focus for intervention in special education has been strictly on
social skills training. While such instruction is important, in the
absence of similar emphasis on social problem-solving skills, it is
insufficient to redress deficits in social interactions exhibited by
youth and adults with disabilities (Chadsey-Rusch, 1986; Park &
Gaylord-Ross, 1989; Wehmeyer & Kelchner, 1994).
Like the choice-making process, problem-solving skills are
embedded into virtually all decision-making procedures. The first
step in most interventions to promote decision-making skills is to
identify the issue at hand or the problem. As it is conceptualized
by most researchers, however, the decision-making process begins
with the listing of already identified options. Pragmatically, one
must first engage in problem-solving before decision-making can
occur. Thus, the instructional emphasis for problem-solving
overlaps considerably with that for decision- and choice-making.
Such instructional emphasis typically includes three focal
points: (a) problem identification; (b) problem explication and
analysis; and, (c) problem resolution. Izzo, Pritz and Ott (1990)
suggested that the characteristics of an instructional environment
contribute significantly to the attainment of these skills.
Instruction should occur within environments that emphasize the
student’s capability to solve problems, promote open inquiry and
exploration, and encourage generalization. Teachers should serve
as role models by verbalizing the problem-solving steps used on a
day-to-day basis and should make sure that students are provided
adequate support and accommodations.
Goal Setting and Attainment
To be the causal agent in one’s life, a person needs to acquire the
skills necessary to plan, set and attain goals. The term goal refers
to a construct that incorporates multiple meanings and, according
to Locke & Latham (1990) “encompasses the essential meaning of
terms such as intention, task, deadline, purpose, aim, end and
objective. All of these have in common the element that there is
something that the person wants to achieve” (p. 2). Causal agency
implies that an outcome was purposeful and a given action
performed to achieve that specific outcome. This requires that
actions be goal-directed.
Such action can be conscious or unconscious, although the
latter is typically associated with the more organismic-biological
connotation of goal-directed action as the “organisms need to
sustain its life by taking the actions its nature requires” (Locke &
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