Modifying the Least Restrictive Environment to Facilitate the Integration of Severely Emotionally Disturbed Children and Youth

Abstract

An analysis was conducted of positive interactions initiated by regular class students with severely emotionally disturbed children and adolescents as a function of two attitude modification treatment conditions. Regular class students were exposed to either information about handicapped persons or the information condition plus structured experiences with severely emotionally disturbed pupils assigned to the same school. Although tentative, results suggested that subjects provided information only responded most positively with the severely disturbed. In addition, first and second grade students and females appeared to respond more favorably to the handicapped population. Implications drawn from these data were that procedures for facilitating the integration of severely emotionally disturbed children and youth into less restrictive settings may need to involve procedures for positively modifying the attitudes of regular class students toward the handicapped.