The educational progress of four normal peers integrated for one year into a preschool class with five children with autism was examined with the Learning Accomplishment Profile and the Preschool Language Scale. Both measures showed that the peers, who had functioned at or above age level at the time of admission, made substantial progress in their developmental rate during the 11 months they were enrolled in the integrated classroom. These data support the value to normal children of being in an integrated classroom. The importance of a well-planned curriculum and educationally sophisticated teaching staff is stressed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Psychiatric Association. (1980). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
2.
BagnatioS. J., & NeisworthJ. T. (1980). The intervention efficiency index: An approach to preschool program accountability.Exceptional Children, 46, 264–269.
3.
BeckmanP. J., & KohlF. L. (1987). Interactions of preschoolers with and without handicaps in integrated and segregated settings: A longitudinal study.Mental Retardation, 25, 5–11
4.
HandlemanJ. S., ArnoldM., & LernerE. (1988). Mainstreaming the student with autism: Strategies to promote integration.Teaching Behaviorally Disordered Youth, 25–30.
5.
HoysonM., JamiesonB., & StrainP. S. (1984). Individualized group instruction of normally developing and autistic-like children: A description and evaluation of the LEAP curriculum model.Journal of the Division for Early Childhood, 8, 157–172.
6.
LeMayD., GriffinP., & SanfordA. (1977). Learning accomplishment profile diagnostic edition.Chapel Hill, NC: Chapel Hill Training-Outreach Project.
7.
OdomS. L., HoysonM., JamiesonB., & StrainP. S. (1985). Increasing handicapped preschoolers' peer social interactions: Cross-setting and component analysis.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 18, 3–16.
8.
OdomS. L., & StrainP. S. (1986). A comparison of peer-initiation and teacher-antecedent interventions for promoting reciprocal social interaction of autistic preschoolers.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 19, 59–71.
9.
SchoplerE., ReichlerR. J., DeVellisR. F., DalyK. (1980). Toward objective classification of childhood autism: Childhood autism rating scale (CARS).Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 10, 91–103.
10.
StrainP. S., HoysonM. M., & JamiesonB. (1985). Normally developing preschoolers as intervention agents for autistic-like children: Effects on class deportment and social interaction.Journal of the Division for Early Childhood, 9, 105–115.
11.
WoleryM. (1983). Proportional change index: An alternative for comparing child change data.Exceptional Children, 50, 167–170.
12.
WolfensbergerW. (1975). Normalization.Toronto: National Institute on Mental Retardation.
13.
ZimmermanI. L., SteinerV. G., & PondR. E. (1979). Preschool language scale.Columbus, OH: Merrill.
