Strengths and Self-Determination in Disability: A Conversation With Sheida Raley, PhD

pHoto used with permission from sheida raley, phd

When Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program alumnae, Kirsten Calloway (C’23) and Margaret Greenberg (C’06), approached us about curating a MAPP Magazine issue focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), we couldn’t have anticipated the twists and turns this issue would take. And yet, collaborating on this effort, watching the magic of the May issue unfold, and now, being among the first to announce the MAPP Alumni Association’s newly launched DEIA+ resource library has been a great honor and joy. 

In this issue, we’ve explored stories, research, interventions, and insights from MAPP alums whose daily lives and work straddle positive psychology, chronic illness, disability, systems accessibility, and DEIA. Additionally, we had the pleasure of meeting with Sheida Raley, PhD (she/her/hers), a special education assistant professor and researcher from the University of Arkansas, about her work in self-determination. We invite you to grab a cup of coffee or your favorite drink, pull up a chair, and enjoy excerpts from this deeply inspiring conversation.

MAPP Magazine (MM): Please share a bit about yourself, your work, and its intersection with positive psychology. 

Sheida Raley (SR): I think my first identity that I'm proud of and bring forth first in my professional work is a teacher. I taught students with extensive support needs and many students that had intellectual disability, students [for whom] support systems—whether that was community, organizations, school systems, even sometimes family systems— didn't always have the highest expectations for what those students were going to do, especially once they transitioned to adulthood. We are talking about competitive and integrated employment or going to college or moving out of the house—you know, the things we think about when we're thinking about graduating high school. 

What really struck me was that so few people ever asked these students, “What do you want to do? What's a goal that you have in your life? What are strengths that you have that you can leverage to achieve those things? What are some of your hopes and your dreams?” Instead, it was just, “Well, let's decide for them what they need to do in order to do what we think that they're capable of doing.” 

Sometimes, expectations [were quite low]. Doing laundry or making a quesadilla. These are not really activities you want to spend an entire academic year learning. 

Instead, what about researching what colleges or universities or technical schools have a program and something that I'm interested in? Or how can I get involved in a self-advocacy organization or an organization that means something to me, something aligned with social justice? Or what about asking them, “What is something that you're really passionate about?” If it's quesadillas or laundry, that's great. But the point is to ask them and then to explore: What are their strengths? What are areas for growth, and how can we leverage those strengths to really provide those opportunities?

I think oftentimes we operate from a deficit-based lens—what are things you can't do? So now, let's set a goal, so you can do those things. But instead, what if we flip that idea to a strengths-based approach? What are things that you can do? What are supports that you need to be successful in those environments? How can you move forward on goals that are important to you? That's really where all my work now is driven from—all those experiences as a teacher where I felt like I was writing goals and working with students, and I never really thought through: Is this important to them? Is this aligned with their beliefs and their values? And how do we really enhance school systems and family systems to respect those values and the strengths of those students instead of just being content that they made it through high school? 

When I look back, I could have done better. But once you know better, then you do better.

MM: That's good. Maya Angelou.

SR: That's right. I’m happy when people know that. It’s so great.

MM: Thank you for going there, Sheida. As you began speaking, I saw the light in your eyes. Your face brightened up. I can tell there’s passion there. It feels contagious, and it’s refreshing. Thank you!

We’re curious—from your perspective and the experiences you've had—what in your opinion is required for a more inclusive, more accessible positive psychology?

SR: That is such a great question. I had the privilege of writing a paper with a couple of colleagues from the University of Kansas, Brian Cole and Karrie Shogren, called, Positive psychology and education of students with disabilities: The way forward with assessment and intervention. [In it, we proposed that] what we need to do is to make these tools, approaches, and resources available and accessible for students with disabilities and also for their support systems.

For example, teachers know there are a plethora of strengths-based assessments. But many of those used in school-based settings and in adult settings are focused on deficits. How do we make sure they know [and use strengths-based assessments] like the VIA Classification of Strengths, the CliftonStrengths assessment, or the youth StrengthsExplorer?

[We] can support students, have them take assessments, and [help them] interpret their results. [With our support, they can] present their results to their educational teams, including their families, and really describe, “These are my strengths. This is how I think I've developed these strengths over time. And this is how I want to leverage them to work towards the things that are important to me.”

I think the first step to accessibility is awareness of the different tools and opportunities that are available. I don’t think people know these things exist. Especially when it comes to the disability context, [many tools] are rooted in what a person cannot do. I mean, [consider] even the word disability. We need to flip that model from focusing on what I think a person cannot do to the things that they can do and the things that we can do to support them to leverage their strengths to work toward activities that are important to that person. 

I think another [thing] is to ensure assessments drive interventions. What are some interventions that we can use to promote strengths? How do we use them to build strengths? There are so many, like Making Hope Happen—which is about building students’ hope and describing what the things are that they're hopeful about and how they perceive themselves. 

Building Bridges is another one for high school students that's really focused on dropout prevention and building relationships to avoid dropout. And then also, of course, interventions focused on self-determination, which build students’ abilities and skills and attitudes related to goal setting and goal attainment, self-regulation, self-monitoring, self-awareness, and self-knowledge, such as the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction or the SDLMI.

I think making [students and their teams] aware of these assessments, tools, and resources, then using results to guide interventions, and implementing those interventions that are focused on: What are your strengths? What are your goals for the future? And how do you really utilize those [strengths]? I think all of these interventions can be built into whatever context is occurring, whether that's education or adult systems. But it has to start with identifying a person's strengths and building those strengths through our assessment processes and through our intervention processes. 

Our goal isn't to use assessment to identify deficits and then use interventions to remediate those deficits. To some people, it sounds like the same thing, but it [requires] a shift in perspective. I think school systems, probably like many systems, are very much focused on deficits, even more so in the disability context. It's all about what students cannot do, and that's exactly what we need to move away from.

MM: Great, that mindset shift is really exciting! You may have touched on this a bit already in your comments about strength-based approaches and assessments. But we’re wondering if you can expand on the most effective approaches and applications of positive psychology—particularly in students with intellectual and/or physical disabilities. 

SR: One of the most exciting things I think about when I consider positive psychology, self-determination, and students with extensive support needs, including students with intellectual disability and physical disabilities, is this shift in recent generations and their focus on social justice movements and getting involved in social movements that mean something to them. It’s similar to the Disability Rights Movement, which really followed a lot of the same movement as the Civil Rights Movement. People with disabilities are experiencing marginalization. People with disabilities are experiencing discrimination, and there is power in coming together as a collective and pushing against this and using self-advocacy to break down these oppressive systems. I think this is a real opportunity for students with intellectual disability, students with physical disabilities to really use their life experiences—whether it's experiencing discrimination on college campuses because there aren't curb cuts or people are leaving scooters in the middle of a sidewalk. Or for people with intellectual disability going to a Town Hall meeting and nothing is in plain language. Or people with other physical disabilities like needing larger print or needing interpreters. 

One of the most important things is using positive psychology to identify a person's strengths. So often, especially for students with disabilities, we think they don't have strengths related to reading or math. But really, they might have amazing strengths related to self-advocacy and bringing a community together and advocating for change in addition to strengths in reading and math. 

How do we put those strengths at the same or a higher level or highlight those strengths in ways that will benefit society in such a great way? To me, this is really exciting. It seems like there was a lull between the Civil Rights Movement, the Disability Rights Movement—not really an investment in social justice movements by the younger generation. But now, it seems like there’s [renewed] interest in social justice. I'm excited about the opportunity to empower youth with disabilities to be involved and to demonstrate their strengths in diverse ways.

MM: Have you had experience helping individuals with disabilities change their perspective? If so, how have they reacted? How has this shift affected their lives and their well-being?

SR: I'll share one of my favorite stories. I was collaborating with a high school math general education teacher who had decades of experience. She liked to teach Honors Pre-calculus and AP Calculus most—like very bright students in math. But she was also teaching Algebra, a class where many of the students were repeating the class for a second or third time. [The students] were really struggling in the class. There were some with disabilities, including intellectual disability, and this teacher didn't know how to engage them in math. So, she reached out, and we implemented an intervention focused on building self-determination—supporting students to set and work towards goals that were important to them.

Most students don't want to set math goals if they don't like math. So, we started out with any goal they wanted to work on in the next few weeks. I would say about half of the class wanted to be in the NFL, but none of them were on the football team. None of them were actively practicing football. Sure, there are only 1,700 NFL players in the league. So, the teacher wanted to say, “That’s unrealistic, don't set that goal”—which is a typical response. But I think, aligned with that strength-based perspective and high expectations, go ahead and set that goal, then let's research what it takes to be an NFL player. 

And so, [the students] found out that they needed to work out at like 5:00 AM, and they needed to eat like 30,000 calories for every meal. When they went to implement their plan, I think one student ate one really big meal, and then, when we went to the self-evaluation phase, we're like alright, maybe I just want to be a professional spectator, or maybe I want to get into something where I can report on sports. So, do we have a journalism class? Or is there a journalism club? And there absolutely is. But without this experience, that avenue of interest would have never been explored. 

Another student said, “You know, I just picked the NFL because my friend did, but what does it take to be an engineer? What do engineers do?” And what a great place to ask those questions but in math class where their teacher could actually answer those questions. 

So, I think that shift happens when we continually provide opportunities with high expectations. You know who sets unrealistic goals? Everybody does, right? Many of us do it on January 1st. I set unrealistic goals to go to the gym every day. I go one time, and then I'm done. But sometimes for students with disabilities, we are so quick to say, “That’s unrealistic. You can't do that in your life. You can't be an astronaut, because you have to have a perfect body to do it.” Well, who's to say what astronauts will look like in 20 years? Crushing that student's dream when they are 10 years old isn't going to do them any good, but instead, just make them feel like they can't do something. What if instead, we empower them to learn what that's like and see where that takes them? 

I think the most important thing we can do is to continue to provide opportunities and let the students direct that process. Part of the bigger picture of how to make change is through providing those first steps, and then the next step, and then the next step, and then the next step after that.

MM: I'm glad I’m on mute because I'm over here cheering! I love what I’m hearing.

SR: Yes, I love that story. It's like one of my favorites. [Eventually, those students] set math goals, and all those kids passed the class that year. Maybe they would have done so without this opportunity. But somebody was asking them, “What are you interested in? What do you want to do? And I care. I care to know what you care about.” Simple, it's just simple.

MM: It is simple and so straightforward. But I think those limits we put on are like shackles, and they don’t need to be. That’s really good. 

SR: Yes, exactly. 

MM: We’ve heard you talk about self-determination, and in our research of your work, it seems like it’s a common thread. For readers who don't know, what is self-determination, and how do we develop it?

SR: A simple definition of self-determination is that being self-determined means acting or causing things to happen in your life as you set and work towards goals.

[Self-determination] doesn't mean that a person is doing everything in their life independently. That's a big misconception that people have about self-determination. 

Going back to laundry and quesadillas, is it necessary that everything that I do with laundry I do independently? Absolutely not. If folding laundry is hard for me, there are support people that I have in my life, and maybe they do the folding part of it. If remembering to change my laundry is hard for me, I can set a timer on my phone. I'm using technology as a support. 

It’s not really about doing everything independently; it's about being in the driver's seat—or as a Superintendent I worked with said, “Self-determination is like being the CEO of your own learning.”

CEOs don't do every single thing in a business, but they're directing it. They have that big picture of where we want to go and what we need to do to make that happen. So that's the big part about self-determination. It’s a person who knows what they want to be working towards and then can strategically utilize supports like people or technology to make that happen.

The second part of that definition is to set and work towards goals. That's a really important part because without goals, who are we? What are the goals you have for your life, and how do you work towards those goals? This is so important for students with disabilities because the model is so often that other people and professionals set goals for them. We need to ensure we’re providing opportunities for making progress and also the dignity of risk. And if something doesn’t work out, that’s part of life. We need to provide opportunities for people to direct their learning, to direct their lives by acting and causing and then setting goals that are important to them, regardless if they're unrealistic or risky.  

For students with disabilities, we often don't afford them the dignity of risk. We want to protect and shield them. Usually, this protection comes from a place of love and care, but it also has the potential to limit the dignity of risk.

So yeah, that's self-determination in a nutshell. A very big nutshell.

MM: You’ve talked a lot about self-determination in students. How does it translate to adults? 

SR: Self-determination is really like a life course, and it's not disability specific. We are all self-determined to one degree or another. And that might change each day, each week, each year of our lives, depending on the different context that we're in—what work environment or living environment. 

A lot of the work in self-determination has occurred in that transition to adulthood, and the reason for that is because the outcomes for students with disabilities graduating from high school or leaving high school are so poor. But self-determination is applicable throughout the life course in any transition. So whether that's a student going from kindergarten to 1st grade, a 5th grader going to middle school, or a person navigating aging, self-determination and the basic fundamentals of it don't change. In adults, it’s still [important] that the person is in the center of that decision-making process. Even if they need support with making decisions, they are deciding who is helping them make decisions. And again, we’re always going back to goals. What's important to you? 

MM: What recommendations would you make to our audience about more inclusive ways to cultivate and nurture self-determination?

SR: Because this is going to a broad audience [across] different fields, the first thing I would say is share what you know. If you are aware of a strengths-based assessment, and you are seeing marginalization happen, share what you know. Offer the opportunity for people to learn. I think that speaks to that awareness piece—of using your power and privilege to combat marginalization by enhancing awareness. 

The second thing that I would say is to be open to learning. Not everybody has experience working with people with disabilities or interacting with people with disabilities. And really, people with disabilities are the experts of their own lives. So ask them, interact with them, find out what they want to do. Be open to learning, and don't assume you know what opportunities might be available to a person, what's important to them, and what their values are. Don't assume. Really privilege the voices of people with disabilities. 

There are many more things I could say, but I think that if people could do these two things, it would really change a lot of those expectations and experiences for people with disabilities.

MM: This is great, thank you. What else are you learning, researching, teaching, and sharing these days that you're really excited about?

SR: Oh, I like this question too! 

On many college campuses, there are programs focused on supporting students with intellectual disability to either get a college degree or certificate or whatever they might be working towards. We have one here at the University of Arkansas, and what we're doing now is implementing an intervention designed to promote self-determination for these students. I'm working with some of the program staff to do that, but we also have graduate students who are implementing the intervention. That offers more of an opportunity for that peer-learning experience, for them to be engaged in that intervention with their peers with disabilities to be self-determined. 

I'm really excited about that because a lot of the previous work in self-determination, and really, most interventions have been professionally led. But the person that's going to have the higher impact and the more important voice is going to be the peer rather than the old adults who went to college decades ago. It’s really exciting for me to see how that enhances outcomes and engagement and supports students to build self-determination in more organic ways. 

For the peers, it can really shift that perception of disability. Maybe they decided that they wanted to be involved in this program because of personal experiences or because they wanted to support a marginalized population. But I hope that from what they see, they are learning how to be more productive members of society and to be a part of a social justice movement as allies.

MM: So good. Is there anything more you’d like to share? Anything else you wish we would have asked you about but didn't?

SR: You have had such great questions. This has been really fun. I mean, it's so rare that people actually ask you questions of things that you care about. No, I think you hit everything. I think positive psychology offers such an opportunity to shift the way we think about disability. And it is long overdue to stop thinking about disability as things that people cannot do, but [rather] as a natural part of the human experience. 

We will all experience disability very likely at some point in our lives. So, how do we really see it as just a part of diversity and celebrate that diversity and learn from it? I think positive psychology is such an opportunity to do that because of the wealth of knowledge that has been built. But it's now a matter of bringing that into the disability space. And also, in the positive psychology space, we need to include disability as a part of that discussion. I think this is so exciting because this is exactly the sort of bridge that needs to happen between the two fields to move them both forward.

MM: We’re excited about that as well and hope by sharing this with our readers, we can help to make that happen. So, last question: How can our readers learn more about your work?

SR: Oh, I think that there's so much more of an opportunity to be better at disseminating information. A lot of the work that I engage in is published, but those publications are not accessible to anybody if they're not in a university setting.

I fully support anybody to look me up or to email me to get in touch with me. I'm happy to connect, to share more about what I'm doing, what I hope to do, to support what others are doing. So yeah, don’t hesitate to make the connection.

MM: Wonderful, Sheida. Thank you very much. 

About the expert | Sheida K. Raley, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Special Education at the University of Arkansas, College of Education Health Professions in the Curriculum and Instruction Department. Her research focuses on assessment and intervention related to self-determination for all students, including students with extensive support needs learning in inclusive contexts. The goal of her research is to understand how to enable all students, including students with and without disabilities, to build abilities and skills associated with self-determination. Prior to joining the University of Arkansas, Dr. Raley was Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Kansas and Assistant Research Professor at Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Kansas and master’s degree from Vanderbilt University.