A short-term longitudinal study of the peer-related social interactions of 111 developmentally delayed toddler and preschool age children was carried out. Initial analyses centered on two groups: one composed of younger and more severely delayed children (mean chronological age, CA = 39.5 months) and the other consisting of older and more mildly delayed children (mean CA = 54.4 months). Observers coded a wide range of social and play behaviors during free-play interactions in individual classrooms, including ratings of social participation, constructiveness of play, and teacher behavior, as well as a series of sequential interactive measures. Similarities to normally developing children in the organization and developmental progression of peer interactions across the short term were noted for each of the groups. However, comparisons to normative expectations for preschool age children in relation to the delayed children's cognitive levels and cross-sectional analyses across chronological age suggested the existence of unusually marked deficits in peer interactions. Possible factors contributing to this deficit are discussed.Research examining young children's social interactions with their peers has intensified dramatically over the past decade. Various studies have indicated that during the toddler period the frequency of social interactions with peers increases substantially; objects become highly integrated into the child's social-interaction repertoire in the form of offering, accepting, and sharing toys; reciprocal imitation, turn-taking, and verbal-interaction skills become firmly enmeshed within the structure of child-child exchanges; and social-interaction episodes become longer, more complex, and more varied (

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Research and application of principles of behavior modification with visually impaired and blind children are reviewed with particular attention to lower functioning multiply impaired children. Coverage focuses on assessment of residual visual and auditory functioning, management of stereotyped and disruptive behavior, and self-help and motor-skill training. Descriptions of applications and suggestions for further research are outlined.