"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…

The self-perceptions of 44 first and second grade Israeli children with learning disabilities (LD) and their 36 nondisabled classmates were assessed. LD children were found to have a greater positive bias and lower self-perception in the cognitive competence domain and similar perceptions as nondisabled peers of peer acceptance despite…

A student attitude questionnaire was given to 1,465 gifted and talented adolescents who identified 5 strategies used to deal with potentially stigmatizing events (cover up, lie, placate, be truthful, and cop-out). The placate coping strategy was the most frequently used across scenarios. (DB)

The effects of a classroom program designed to improve 109 fifth- and sixth-grade students' attitudes toward blind peers are examined. The results indicated that children who received the lessons had better feelings about blind children but were less inclined to engage in activities with them than those who received no lessons. (Author/PHR)

This study compared the perceptions of 20 normal peers of the nonspeech characteristics of 8 dysarthric (with cerebral palsy) and 8 normal-speaking children (ages 6-11). Results indicated that the normal speakers were judged much more positively than the dysarthric speakers. Implications for the mainstreaming of children with dysarthric speech are…

Ten learning-disabled elementary students experiencing peer rejection participated in a 20-week intervention with a contextualist training model. Five of the 10 students' social status was classified as unrejected at the postintervention measure, and there were significant increases in positive peer nominations for males at posttest and 6-month…

This study investigated the perceived loneliness, social competence, and social status of 15 sixth-grade students with learning disabilities (LD). Comparison with 68 peers without disabilities found students with LD reported more loneliness, were less popular, and more controversial in their social status than non-disabled peers. Implications for…

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…

Presents a model for generating hypothetical examples of difficulties that handicapped students may encounter in mainstreamed settings. Additionally presents data to evaluate the effectiveness of hypothetical examples in promoting positive attitudes toward the handicapped. (RH)

Low socially accepted learning-disabled intermediate-grade students (N=86) were paired with 86 high socially accepted, nonhandicapped classmates for 8 weeks in 4 groups: mutual interest group, cooperative academic task group, Hawthorne effect/control group, and classroom control group. Evaluated were changes in classmates' ratings of…

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.…

This article reports results of a survey of general educators, special educators, and classmates involved in the integration of middle school students with severe disabilities into eight general education classes in two communities. Integration was perceived positively by all of the educators and by most of the students. (DB)

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…

Discusses patterns of social interaction used by 28 preschool children who were popular, controversial, neglected, or rejected as playmates. Videotaped social play in which one child joined a dyad was coded in terms of children's direction of communication, inititiations, and responses. (CB)

Sixteen young adults with autism participated in a social skills group for several years and were asked to complete a sociogram and a questionnaire. Results are analyzed in terms of relationship between leaders' and group members' ratings, relationship between popularity and personal attributes, and sex and group differences. (Author/JDD)