Self-determination and creating a just society for all

Historically, disability has been understood through models that emphasized disability and disease. Newer, person-environment models of disability, which emphasize the fit between the person’s capacities and the demands of the environment, have paved the way for strengths-based approaches to disability and a focus on supports and self-determination. The application of school¬wide approaches, such as multi-tiered systems of supports, universal design for learning, the use of technology, and promoting self-determination are all educational interventions that adopt these person-environment support models. If the field is to achieve the principles stated in Article 24 of the CRPD pertaining to the “full development of human potential and sense of dignity and self-worth, and the strengthening of respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and human diversity,” we as a system must adopt and expand these strengths-based approaches.