Decision Making by Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Ishita Khemka, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Programs in Special Education at St. John's University, New York. She has many years of experience in teacher preparation, inclusive programming for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and program evaluation. Dr. Khemka’s research has significantly advanced the study of interpersonal decision making in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders. Dr. Khemka is the lead author of ESCAPE-NOW and PEER-DM, decision-making programs focusing on reducing social vulnerability and maltreatment in adults and adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Linda Hickson, Ph.D., is Emerita Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. As long-time coordinator of the Programs in Intellectual Disability/Autism and director of the Center for Opportunities and Outcomes for People with Disabilities, Dr. Hickson taught and mentored master’s and doctoral students and directed numerous research projects pertaining to disability. She has published chapters and research articles on a wide array of topics, especially theoretical and applied aspects of decision making in people with disabilities. A central focus of Dr. Hickson’s research has been on finding ways to reduce the social vulnerability of adolescents and adults with intellectual disabilities and autism by increasing their ability to make effective self-protective decisions. Dr. Hickson, with her collaborator, Dr. Ishita Khemka, conducted a series of funded projects that resulted in the development and evaluation of ESCAPE-NOW, a decision-making curriculum to decrease the vulnerability of women and men with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and PEER-DM, a decision-making program to decrease the peer victimization of adolescents with intellectual disabilities and autism.

Chapter 1. Introduction.- Section 1. Psychology of Decision Making.- Chapter 2. Current Views of Decision Making and IDD.- Chapter 3. Self-Determination and Decision Making.- Chapter 4. Global Perspectives on Decision Making.- Section 2. Theoretical Aspects of Decision Making.- Chapter 5. Advances in Decision-Making Theory.- Chapter 6. Gender, Race, and Cultural Considerations.- Chapter 7. Etiological Bases of Decision Making.- Chapter 8. Framework for Understanding Decision Making and IDD.- Section 3. Component Process of Decision Making.- Chapter 9. Cognition.- Chapter 10. Motivational Goals and Self-Beliefs.- Chapter 11. Affect and Emotion.- Chapter 12. Decision-Making Styles.- Section 4. Applications of Decision Making.- Chapter 13. Sibling and Family Dynamics.- Chapter 14. Transition to Adulthood and Self-Direction.- Chapter 15. Peer Victimization, Bullying, and Cyberbullying.- Chapter 16. Abuse and Interpersonal Violence.- Chapter 17. Community Living.- Chapter 18. Supported Decision Making.- Section 5. Building Decision-Making Capacity.- Chapter 19. Behavioral Interventions.- Chapter 20. Peer-Mediated and Group Approaches.- Chapter 21. Strategy-Based Interventions.