Background:
Life skills are basic components of human adaptive functioning. In disability context, providing support to enhance these skills that ensure autonomous functioning in everyday life is essential.

Method:
The purpose of the present study is to investigate the direct, indirect, and interaction effects among the components of self-determination, self-concept, transition planning, and life skills in students with neurodevelopmental disabilities. The first goal of this study was to examine how student transition planning, as a mediator, influenced the relationship between self-determination components (autonomy, self-regulation, psychological empowerment, and self-realization) and students’ life skills. The second goal was to explore the psychological, educational, and social mechanisms through which self-concept, as a moderator, plays a role in the directional prediction of life skills. The exploration of these relational patterns was carried out through structural equation modeling approaches, with the estimations of the structural model parameters highlighting the investigated effects. The data were collected using standardized instruments from 304 adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders and intellectual disabilities (M =14.93; SD =1.42).

Results:
The study's findings revealed direct effects of self-determination components on life skills development. The influence of student transition planning with implicit indirect effects was analyzed through the lens of full and partial mediation processes. The study outcomes indicated significant indirect effects exerted by self-regulation and psychological empowerment, with transition planning having a full mediating role. Self-concept played a moderating role in strengthening the relationship between autonomy and life skills.

Conclusion:
It is essential to design future research focused on the moderator role of the self-concept dimensions on the relationships between self-determination and students' quality of life in the Romanian context of developmental disabilities. Implications for educational practice. Considering our study findings, it is essential to include in the functional curriculum designed particularly for students with developmental disability objectives and learning activities related to autonomy skills and behaviors, self-regulation actions, acting in a psychologically empowered manner, and self-realization attitudes. Applying educational strategies to improve self-determination skills and behaviors plays a vital role in carrying out the effect of school-based interventions. We emphasized the necessity of implementation in Romanian educational settings of evidence-based strategies that have a major role in enhancing students' self-determination, optimization of adaptive behaviors and functional life skills, acquisition of student transition planning abilities, and strengthening attitudes related to self-concept and self-perceptions.

Keywords: Neurodevelopmental disabilities, self-determination, self-concept, student transition planning, life skills, structural equation modeling.