Online Self-Determination Toolkit for Youth With Disabilities: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Evaluation Study.

Area of Science:

• Disability Studies
• Vocational Rehabilitation
• Educational Technology

Background:

• Youth with disabilities face significant barriers to employment, including inaccessible jobs and lack of support.
• Low self-confidence and discrimination are common challenges during the transition to adulthood.
• Enhancing self-determination skills is crucial for youth with disabilities to advocate for their workplace needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the co-creation process of an online toolkit designed to improve self-determination in youth with disabilities.
• The toolkit focuses on advocating for needs, including disability disclosure and requesting accommodations from employers.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods design incorporating qualitative data (focus groups, mentored discussion forum) and quantitative data (pre-post questionnaires).
• Fifty youths with disabilities, aged 15-24, will be recruited for the study.
• Qualitative data will explore contextual factors influencing intervention outcomes.

Main Results:

• Data collection is currently underway.
• Planned analyses include focus groups and pre-post surveys to assess the intervention's impact on self-determination.
• Qualitative content analysis will examine focus group and survey data to understand the toolkit's influence.

Conclusions:

• An evidence-informed online toolkit was developed in collaboration with youth with disabilities.
• The toolkit demonstrates potential for use in educational and vocational programs supporting youth with disabilities.