"The Role of Risk: Mentoring Experiences and Outcomes for Youth with Varying Risk Profiles" presents findings from the first large-scale study to examine how the levels and types of risk youth face may influence their relationships with program-assigned mentors and the benefits they derive from these relationships. The study looked…

Different functions within different forms of aggression were examined in relation to peer-perceived preference and popularity among middle school students. Two hundred and three 7th grade students were nominated by a subset of their grade mates based on indices of likeability, popularity, and aggressiveness. Both linear and curvilinear…

Ways that teachers can prepare themselves for a class with a mainstreamed disabled student are described, including obtaining information about the specific disability, visiting the child and parents at home, reflecting upon personal attitudes about disabilities, setting up for a wheelchair user, working with visually- or hearing-impaired…

A discussion and demonstration of social comparison as a means of assessing programs for mentally retarded children is presented. The position is taken that the social validation method of norm peer comparison might be helpful in determining whether certain handicapped children should be moved to a less restrictive environment. (Author)

A Child Awareness Program was conducted by nine elementary schools to enhance acceptance of handicapped children by their nonhandicapped peers through child awareness activities. A manual of activities was developed containing lesson plans, lists of guest speakers, audiovisual materials, and suggested simulations of handicapping conditions. (SB)

The social interaction patterns of employees with and without mental retardation across several different competitive employment sites were observed. Findings suggested mentally retarded workers were physically but not socially integrated with their co-workers. Results are discussed in relation to their implications for integrating workers with…

Lessons designed to help elementary students understand disabilities and disabled persons were successful in promoting understanding and positive attitudes. Lessons focus on such topics as individual differences, people in wheelchairs, and hearing and visual impairments. (Sample lessons are presented for grades K-6.) (CL)

Placing socially rejected handicapped students with popular nonhandicapped students for cooperative nonacademic tasks is one approach to easing handicapped students' transition into the mainstreamed classroom. Teachers can group children according to sociometric techniques. (CL)

Sensitive, conscientious teachers can help change children's competitiveness into greater feelings of success and self-worth and can enhance acceptance for mainstreamed handicapped students. (CL)

The teacher's guide presents a set of seven lessons designed to help students understand friendship and peer relationships. The lessons focus on: (1) the desire to feel loved and accepted; (2) behaviors designed to gain acceptance from others; (3) ways that other people may use one's need for acceptance to influence one's behavior; (4) the…

Fourteen children's books which may help classroom teachers understand children with handicaps are described. The books deal realistically with a variety of handicaps (mental retardation, hearing impairments, blindness, physical disabilities, and multiple disabilities) and can be an effective tool in helping nonhandicapped children empathize and…

A group of English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers share tips on how to incorporate the latest ESL techniques into teaching strategies to reinforce what children are learning in ESL and to enrich school for all students. (MT)

The article describes learning activities and resource materials that may be helpful in helping preschool children develop positive attitudes toward handicapped children. (CL)

Ten children's books portraying positive images of learning disabled children are listed and procedures for facilitating discussion of the books with the entire class are outlined. (CL)