Self-determination and Self-directed IEP

In order for the students to succeed after high school, they need to be advocates for themselves. They need to be aware of their disability and the limitations as well as their interests and their strengths. There are many articles that gives steps to helping students develop self advocacy skills.
One of these articles is called Self-Advocacy: A valuable Skill for your Teenager with LD.
http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/health/797-self-advocacy-teenager-with-ld.gs
It gives tips that help students develop skills in order to be an advocate for themselves and enables them to reach whatever goals they have set. After the student's 16th birthday, they must be invited to the IEP meetings. They become a vital part in these meetings because their opinion matters.

There is also a video that teachers students about what self advocacy is and how to achieve it:
 http://teachingselfadvocacy.wordpress.com/teaching-self-advocacy-skills/
The following is a journal article that stresses the importance of self determination skills in a student with learning disabilities:

http://rse.sagepub.com/content/24/6/339.full.pdf+html
http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/?pageId=3631