The report describes the development and use of the Educational Assessment of Social Interaction (EASI), part of project REACH (Regular Education for All Children with Handicaps). The EASI is intended for program evaluation rather than individual student evaluation. The scale, originally developed to measure interactions among severely disabled…

An intensive, naturalistic, observational study was conducted of a preschool class which integrated eight handicapped and five nonhandicapped children. An attempt was made to identify social and physical settings which maximized interaction among members of the two groups. Observations (N=2,306) of the social and play behaviors were recorded over…

A demonstration preschool program based on Piagetian principles and integrating handicapped children with their normal peers is described. Findings on the behavior styles of the children are cited based on the Coping Analysis Schedule for Educational Settings. It is explained that as groups, the non-handicapped and handicapped Ss exhibit similar…

Aspects of the interactive environments of 10 emotionally disturbed children (7 to 11 years old) were compared with those experienced simultaneously by 10 normal children (matched for age, sex and IQ) in the same setting. Two types of setting were examined: a choice setting in which the child was able to choose his activity from among several…

The purpose of the study involving 110 first graders was to determine whether learning disordered students were afforded different interactions from their regular classroom teachers than were children achieving at low, medium, or high levels. (Author/SBH)

The study examined the social interaction of nine language-handicapped children (7 to 10 years old) in a speech and language unit as compared to an equal number of regular class children. (SBH)

The handicapped and nonhandicapped children changed differentially over time in their solitary activities and dominant interactions and in their interaction with handicapped and nonhandicapped peers, but these changes all moved in the direction of making the two groups less distinguishable. (Author/SBH)

This study of the patterns of contact among 12 students (ages 4-17) with deaf-blindness and their nondisabled age peers at school revealed that students engaged in slightly less than 90 minutes per day in social contact. Many students with deaf-blindness were not developing stable (repeating) contacts with any of their peers. (Author/JDD)

The study compared four methods of increasing quantity and quality of play interactions between nonhandicapped and 11 moderately/severely handicapped children in an integrated preschool. Results of contingent reinforcement, reinforcement plus modeling, reinforcement plus behavior management, and reinforcement plus modeling plus behavior management…

This paper presents a scale to evaluate the social interactions between students with severe disabilities and nondisabled students in integrated settings. The Educational Assessment of Social Interaction (EASI) was developed to be used with relatively little training but still be sensitive to the following major dimensions of interactions: (1)…

A code to systematically observe preschool settings in which handicapped children were placed was designed to determine the types of interaction and play behavior that occurs in these settings. The code records the following information: play area the child is in, how many children are in the same area, the play behavior the child is undertaking,…

This tightly focused profile of an exceptionally able elementary school teacher includes background material on her youth and early years in teaching as well as an in-depth analysis of her teaching methods and relationships with students. Videotapes of her classroom performance and retrospective interviews were used to obtain information. An…

Social relationships were assessed in four classes of young children which included students with developmental disabilities. Reciprocal, positive relationships were found between children with disabilities and their classmates. Social relationships varied according to individual differences in social status and social profile of the children with…

This observational study of three preschool children with profound disabilities in an integrated setting revealed frequent opportunities for peer social interactions and indicated that subjects engage in interactions of comparable length to those of nondisabled peers. The importance of helping young nondisabled children understand and respond to…