Conversation skills are essential for success in social, school, and business settings. They are foundational to deep relationships and lifelong friendships. Job applicants leave a more favorable impression with good conversation skills. Employees with these skills are more likely to climb the company ladder than those who struggle with…

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)

Learning names is vital to the enjoyment and productivity of a group. Presents four games to help campers learn each others' names. Sidebar presents three additional teambuilding activities and ice breakers. (TD)

Intended for parents, the handbook explores the nature of and rationale for integration with young disabled children. Social and instructional integration are defined and similarities with mainstreaming are noted. Answers are provided to commonly asked questions, such as whether nonhandicapped students begin to imitate behaviors of handicapped…

The changing role of the psychologist in an institution for handicapped children is discussed. Adaptation of tests, selection of instruments, and the importance of interview techniques are considered in a section on assessment. Programing aspects, including dealing with stereotyping behaviors and self abuse and helping teachers locate resources,…

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

English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers can help disabled learners through observation and awareness efforts (such as sharing their knowledge of cross-cultural differences with special education resource staff), sensory activities (evolving a multisensory approach), and translating one sensory experience in terms of another. (CL)

The author concludes from phone interviews and site visits that there are many approaches for integrating severely handicapped students into school and community settings. Examples cited include dispersal, planned interaction, provision of program support and support for regular teachers. Staff integration, parental support and positive attitudes…

Formal and informal methods for promoting integration, directed toward both school staff and students, are provided to assist teachers of the severely handicapped in systematically integrating their students into the regular school milieu. (Author/SB)

The fifth of six volues in a series on the "Making Special Friends Project," a program designed to promote interaction between severely handicapped and nonhandicapped persons in school and community settings, details an approach for developing community resource and accessibility guides. Steps in the process are outlined, including…

Parents of children with disabilities must maintain a fine balance between protecting their child from thoughtless cruelty and discrimination and teaching their child to deal with such actions. Parents should quickly end any cruel actions toward the child, be open about the disability's nature, and talk to parents of the child's peers. (CB)

Components of an integrated physical education program, which consists of handicapped and nonhandicapped students, include: (1) activities that promote interaction among all students; (2) strategies that place handicapped and nonhandicapped students together; and (3) reinforcement of cooperative behavior. (CJ)

The authors provide information on how school personnel can help provide both opportunities for intergroup relationships and strategies for creating rewarding social interactions between severely handicapped and nonhandicapped students. (SW)