Inclusion and Friendship of Children with Disabilities

Abstract

Inclusion of children with disabilities into the regulareducation system has undoubtedly increased the number ofsocial interactions between children with and withoutdisability. However, most previous research suggests a lowacceptance of children with disabilities in the peerenvironment. Lower levels of social acceptance can affect thedevelopment of friendship as the most important relationshipwith peers. This paper summarizes the results of the researchof positive peer interactions of children with disabilities,acceptance and friendship with typical children as well aswith children who also have disabilities. Children withdisabilities, unlike typical peers, often experience greaterdifficulty in creating and maintaining friendships. Delayeddevelopment of motor, perceptual, cognitive, language,communication and / or social skills is likely to contribute tothe difficulties of children with disabilities in creating lastingfriendships. This paper provides an overview of scientificknowledge about the effectiveness of the researchedstrategies for social acceptance, development andmaintenance of friendship.