This article describes strategies to assist toddlers with special needs in inclusive settings to acquire social interaction skills. Strategies include: (1) arranging the environment; (2) group affection activities; (3) imitation of peers; (4) teacher prompts; (5) teacher reinforcement; (6) correspondence training; and (7) peer-mediated…

Evidence supporting the use of a revision of the Opinions Relative to Mainstreaming scale, called Opinions Relative to Integration of Students with Disabilities, is presented. Scale testing with 376 professionals revealed satisfactory item characteristics, adequate reliability and homogeneity, and initial support for construct validity. The scale…

This article examines the challenges and successes experienced over four years by three academically gifted students with deaf-blindness in inclusive educational programs, and presents recommendations about placement of students with similar needs in inclusive programs. (Author/DB)

This paper describes two alternative strategies for fostering communication skills in preschool children with disabilities: one that teaches normally developing peers to use specific communication strategies when interacting with their less skilled classmates and one that teaches both normal and disabled preschoolers to enact sociodramatic play…

This paper describes Gordon Allport's contact theory (which contrasts effects of casual contact and contact leading to acquaintanceship) and the findings of social integration research. Theories are applied to fostering true social integration of hearing-impaired students being educated in mainstream settings. Educators are urged to maximize…

Eight children with severe disabilities and eight nonhandicapped peers were observed in their regular elementary school classrooms. Results indicated that children's social acceptance and opportunity for interaction were not uniquely associated with their status as individuals with severe disabilities, and suggest that implicit standards and…

This paper reviews literature on the use of cooperative learning strategies within integrated recreational activities to include children with severe disabilities. The review focuses on how recreation activities can be structured to maximize cooperative aspects, peer-participant characteristics, participant preparation, and sustaining the…

This keynote address argues that some efforts of early educational programs have, themselves, led to new risks for children. Issues discussed include the confusion between culture and development, services to poor children and families, and segregating young children with special needs. (JDD)

A yearly "Friendship Games" day has been implemented at an Edmonton (Alberta) elementary school. The games focus on integration of students with and without disabilities in sports activities, many of which require cooperation. Examples of specific activities are listed (including materials needed, procedure, and scoring) and a suggested physical…

This article discusses mainstreaming of a student (age five) with physical, intellectual, visual, and suspected auditory impairments in her neighborhood school in Auckland, New Zealand. Comments of the people involved in the program, including the principal, teachers, teacher's aide, family members, and fellow pupils are reported; and the success…

The Young Scholars Program, a four-week intensive summer program of theater and dance that integrates deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing high school students, is described. The program emphasizes cultural diversity and experiential learning through field trips and student performances. (DB)

Analysis of questionnaire responses from 71 preschool teachers found that the more satisfied teachers were with the level of support and training they received regarding inclusion of children with disabilities, the more positive were their attitudes toward the inclusion concept. Self-perceptions of competency were also related to positive…

This discussion looks at the functional curriculum approach to educating students with disabilities. It addresses identifying functional knowledge and skills, starting a functional curriculum, needs of students with disabilities for such a curriculum, and the relationship of the functional curriculum to the traditional curriculum and to inclusive…

A survey of 23 specialist and 49 mainstream Scottish teachers, 22 with experience of autism, 27 without, investigated attitudes towards inclusion. A minority of mainstream respondents believed children with autism should be integrated where possible. Mainstream teachers with experience of autism showed more confidence. Specialist teachers were…

The friendship status of 58 preschoolers with disabilities in inclusive child care settings in North Carolina was examined. The majority of children were found to have at least one friend. Associated factors included diagnosis, developmental level, behavioral characteristics, characteristics of the friend, similarities between the child and the…