During the early childhood years, children learn to interact with one another in ways that are positive and successful. Researchers stress the importance of positive peer relationships in childhood and later life. The absence of positive social interactions in childhood is linked to negative consequences later in life, such as withdrawal,…

When students are struggling to be successful in the general classroom, collaborative efforts should include planning for academic and social needs. Students with disabilities may display significant social difficulties such as establishing friendships or feelings of isolation and loneliness. Because peer relationships in childhood play a…

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…

Intended for both regular and special educators, the book outlines ways to promote integration between students with severe handicaps and their peers. The first of five sections includes an overview about students with severe handicaps as well as background information on the integration of severely handicapped students. Three chapters in section…

This article considers educational implications of a child with cancer, including incidence, telling the child about his/her disease, school reentry, what classmates want to know, counseling the child with cancer, handling the issue of death, and staff issues. A lesson plan on childhood cancer for elementary students is also included. (DB)

Children who are consistently ignored or disliked, especially those who make no friends at all, often have trouble succeeding in school. This article illustrates the scenario of a child who is just learning to play with others, but continues to face rejection from her classmates. The author provides tips for both teachers and parents that can…

A total of 28 middle class preschool children ranging in age from 3.5 to 5.5 years participated in a study designed to identify characteristic behaviors of children differing in their social acceptance by peers. Indexes of social acceptance and rejection were obtained through a peer nomination procedure based on queries about most and least…

This article discusses strategies for encouraging children with and without disabilities to have fun together and learn with computers, the rationale and benefits of inclusive computer play, and the outcomes of a study in which children engaged in inclusive computer play. Recommendations for materials, grouping, and scheduling are provided.…

An early childhood special education program to foster appreciation of diversity is described. Suggestions are offered for ways to use books and activities to celebrate diversity. Sociograms before and after the program indicated improved attitudes by most children toward peers of diverse colors, cultures, and backgrounds. (DB)

This curriculum to foster the inclusion of students with disabilities is designed to be offered by educators in junior and senior high school settings. It is intended to bring together students with and without disabilities for classroom instruction, discussion, and experiential learning. The experiential component pairs students with disabilities…

Preventing rejection of a student by his/her peers and helping the child to cope with such rejection are ever-present challenges for teachers. Suggestions are given by teachers who have successfully dealt with students who were rejected by classmates. (IAH)

Since the groundwork for social development is laid during a child's early years, early childhood programs should include regular, periodic, formal and informal assessments of children's progress in the acquisition of social competence. One assessment tool that can be used is the Social Attributes Checklist, which lists attributes of a child's…

The digest addresses, in question-and-answer format, ways to promote peer acceptance of handicapped students. Topics covered include the effects of first impressions on nonhandicapped students and the impact of physical proximity, and the nature of interdependence among students' learning goals and rewards as structured by the teacher. A…

This article discusses social difficulties of children with Asperger's syndrome and provides strategies for helping children practice and learn the classroom and life rules that many students naturally acquire. Suggestions include: carefully structure seating arrangements and group work, provide a safe haven, prepare for changes in routine, and…

The efficacy of a contextualist training model for increasing the peer acceptance of learning-disabled students through skills training and systematic opportunities for interactions with peers and teachers is evaluated. Ten peer-rejected learning-disabled subjects (seven males and three females) in grades 3 to 6 were selected to participate in the…