Although recent research on exceptional children has reflected an increased focus on emotional and social assessments, there is a paucity of research on the exceptional child's perceptual understanding of his/her social reality. This research assessed social perspective taking, the ability to relate and coordinate the perspective of self with others, in 57 children classified as educable mentally retarded (EMR) divided into three age groups ranging from 8-16 years. Significant differences in social perspective taking were obtained between the three groups in the domain of understanding individuals and between the older and two younger groups in the domain of understanding friendship. Results are discussed in terms of current practices and future needs.
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