Conversational competence and peer response to mildly retarded children.

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between mildly retarded children's conversational competence and their acceptance by regular education students. Ninety-four elementary school students watched videotapes in which mildly retarded children displayed either skill or lack of skill at conversational management. Half of the students were told the retarded children's special education placement; half were not. Students responded more positively when the mildly retarded children displayed skill at managing conversations, projecting that they would be liked by others in their classrooms. When the mildly retarded children showed problems with conversational management, students projected that they would be rejected or isolated by peers. These findings support the position that language can play an important role in children's response to their handicapped peers.

A National Study of Youth Attitudes toward the Inclusion of Students with Intellectual Disabilities

“…We also expected, on the basis of previous work by Siperstein and colleagues (Bak & Siperstein, 1987;Hemphill & Siperstein, 1990;Siperstein & Bak, 1985a), that youths' perceptions of the competence of students with ID would influence their belief about whether students with ID should be in classes with them and their willingness to interact with these students. Finally, we hypothesized that youths' expectations about the ways that inclusion could affect them personally would also influence their beliefs about inclusion.…”

Personal narrative skills of school‐aged children with Down syndrome

“…Personal narratives are descriptions of past events that have been experienced by the speaker and are one of the most frequently used and earliest developing types of narration in children with typical language development (Peterson and McCabe 1983, Milosky 1987, Preece 1987). Moreover, competence in relating personal experiences is considered critical for socio‐emotional wellbeing and identity development (Hemphill and Siperstein 1990, Reed and Spicer 2003). It is expected that children are capable of producing personal narratives by the time they enter the school system.…”

The conversational skills of school‐aged children

“…Conversational skill can play a central role in a child's access to social interaction with peers (Corsaro, 1979), in determining peer acceptance (Hemphill & Siperstein, 1990), in second language learners' access to input in their target language (Day, 1986;Krashen, 1985), and in making a positive impression on teachers and other powerful adults (Evans, 1987). Understanding its relation to other language skills and analyzing the conditions that promote its development are crucial to a complete picture of children's social development.…”