The Arc’s Self-Determination Scale, Adult Version (ASDS)
Overview
- Purpose
- Measure individual strengths and areas of support need in self-determination
- Respondent
- Person with a Disability
- Administration Method
- Survey
- Administration Mode
- In-person
- Developer
- Michael Wehmeyer and Kathy Kelchner at The Arc of the United States
- Item Count
- 72
- Population
- Intellectual and Developmental Disability
Instrument Citation(s)
Wehmeyer, M., & Bolding, N. (2013). The Arc’s Self-Determination Scale – Adult Version.
http://www.beachcenter.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/Adult%20Version%20of%20The%20Arc's%20Self-Determination%20Scale.pdf 
Instrument Domains
| Domain | Number of Items |
|---|---|
| Choice and Control | 17 |
| Personal freedoms and dignity of risk | 17 |
| Choice of services and supports | 0 |
| Personal choices and goals | 0 |
| Self-direction | 0 |
| Community Inclusion | 25 |
| Employment | 2 |
| Meaningful activity | 15 |
| Social connectedness and relationships | 8 |
| Transportation | 1 |
| Resources and settings to facilitate inclusion | 0 |
| Holistic Health and Functioning | 4 |
| Individual health and functioning | 4 |
| Health promotion and prevention | 0 |
| Person-Centered Planning and Coordination | 3 |
| Person-centered planning | 3 |
| Assessment | 0 |
| Coordination | 0 |
| Caregiver Support | 0 |
| Access to resources | 0 |
| Family caregiver/natural support involvement | 0 |
| Family caregiver/natural support wellbeing | 0 |
| Training and skill-building | 0 |
| Consumer Leadership in System Development | 0 |
| Evidence of meaningful caregiver involvement | 0 |
| Evidence of meaningful consumer involvement | 0 |
| System supports meaningful consumer involvement | 0 |
| Equity | 0 |
| Availability | 0 |
| Equitable access and resource allocation | 0 |
| Transparency and consistency | 0 |
| Fluctuation of Need | 0 |
| Human and Legal Rights | 0 |
| Freedom from abuse and neglect | 0 |
| Informed decision-making | 0 |
| Optimizing the preservation of legal and human rights | 0 |
| Privacy | 0 |
| Supporting individuals in exercising their human and legal rights | 0 |
| Level of Caregiver Well-Being | 0 |
| Service Delivery and Effectiveness | 0 |
| Delivery | 0 |
| Person's needs met and goals realized | 0 |
| System Performance and Accountability | 0 |
| Data management and use | 0 |
| Evidence-based practice | 0 |
| Financing and service delivery structures | 0 |
| Workforce | 0 |
| Adequately compensated with benefits | 0 |
| Culturally competent | 0 |
| Demonstrated competencies when appropriate | 0 |
| Person-centered approach to services | 0 |
| Safety of and respect for the worker | 0 |
| Staff Turnover | 0 |
| Sufficient workforce numbers dispersion and availability | 0 |
| Workforce engagement and participation | 0 |
Psychometric Citation
Wehmeyer, M., Palmer, S., Shogren, K., & Seong, Y. (2014). The Arc’s Self-Determination Scale - Adult Version: Procedural Guidelines. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED441322.pdf
- Type of Publication
- Technical report
- Instrument Language
- English
- Sample: Age (Mean and Range)
Mean=36.34 Years
- Sample: Age Group
Under 18 Years; 18-64 Years
- Sample: Countries/State
United States
- Sample: Disability Type
Intellectual and Developmental Disability
- Sample: Gender (%male)
45%
- Sample: Race/Ethnicity (%)
Caucasian 81% , African-American 9%, Native American 5%, Hispanic 2.5%, and Asian-American 2%
- Sample: Sampling Strategy
Convenience Sample
- Sample: Size
408
- Reliability: Internal Consistency
Cronbach’s Alpha for the overall survey (ɑ= 0.82)
- Study design
- Cross-sectional