Peer Relationships of Preadolescent Students with Disabilities who attend a Separate School

Abstract

Research describing peer relationships of students with disabilities has focused on younger children and students attending inclusive schools. Although some students with disabilities continue to be educated in separate classes, and to a lesser percentage, separate schools, descriptions of peer relationships in these environments is lacking. The following study incorporated multiple measures that included: peer nominations, peer interviews, and direct observations in the playground, as a means of describing the peer relationships of middle-school students who attend a separate school for students with disabilities. Results were compared to those obtained using the same measures in a nearby inclusive school, for one child who attended both schools, and for typical middle-school students. Results reveal that students with disabilities who attend a separate school experience a variety of peer relationships that included reciprocal positive nominations as preferred peers as well as low social status, lack of social interaction during recess and engagement in age-inappropriate activities. Results of this study suggest that regardless of setting, strategies to facilitate peer relationships that include students with disabilities are needed to foster the development of positive interactions between peers during unstructured periods at school.