Social relationships and friendships among young people with Down’s syndrome in secondary schools

Abstract

More young people with Down’s syndrome are being taught in mainstream schools and interest in the educational aspect of inclusion has grown over the last few years. In this article Pat Cuckle, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Leeds, and June Wilson, a support teacher working for Education Leeds, explore patterns of friendship and social relationships among teenagers with Down’s syndrome. The young people who took part in the study either attend mainstream schools or resourced provision in mainstream schools. The enquiry provides fascinating insights into the participants’ views of friendship and into the range of their social experiences. Pat Cuckle and June Wilson conclude their report with a set of recommendations focusing on the need to create more opportunity for social interaction for young people with special needs.

Parent and Teacher Perspectives on Friendships and Social Interactions of Secondary Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

“…First, friendships were described by all of the parents and the majority of teachers as infrequent and a common challenge. The lack of friendships and/or presence of low quality (e.g., unilateral or tied to single context) social interactions with peers was consistent with extant research and reaffirms the need for this and future studies (Cuckle & Wilson, 2002;Petrina et al, 2014;Tipton, Christensen, & Blacher, 2013;Wagner et al, 2004).…”

“…Unfortunately, student interactions were consistently described as consisting of companionship, unilateral helping, and greetings made in passing, and they occurred mostly in school. Others found that students with IDD similarly were socially isolated or remained on the social periphery of their inclusive classes (Orsmond, Krauss, & Seltzer, 2004;Tipton et al, 2013) and that friendships between students with and without IDD did not extend beyond the school walls (Cuckle & Wilson, 2002;Tipton et al, 2013). This suggests, again, the ongoing challenge of friendship development, but directs us to a specific area of need related to promoting interactions in multiple contexts and to examining the quality of social interactions in schools that may not naturally extend beyond school walls.…”

“…Parents of children with IDD report that what they want most out of schooling is for their children to interact socially and develop friendships with peers (Cuckle & Wilson, 2002;Overton & Rausch, 2002). Educators value friendships and social interactions with classmates without disabilities as an instructional priority in inclusive classes for high school students with IDD (Carter & Hughes, 2006;Jorgensen, Schuh, & Nisbet, 2006).…”

“…Direct support from parents and teachers appears to be a critical factor when students with IDD have developed and maintained friendships with peers without disabilities (Bauminger & Shulman, 2003;Calder, Hill, & Pellicano, 2012;Cuckle & Wilson, 2002;Matheson et al, 2007). As precursors to the development of friendships, parents and teachers increased the prevalence of social interaction opportunities between students with and without IDD and taught students to be more successful during such social interactions (Author, 2012;Carter, Asmus, & Moss, 2013).…”

The building process as a tool towards an all-inclusive school. A Swedish example focusing on children with defined concentration difficulties such as ADHD, autism and Down’s syndrome

“…They are also extra sensitive to their environment (Reese et al 2005;Zentall 2005;Cuckle and Wilson 2002). That is, they experience great difficulties in staying focused in an environment with a wide variety of sensory input, which in the case of learning will result in interrupted study activity.…”