Effects of structured interactions with severely handicapped peers on children's attitudes.

Regular-education children in Grades 4 through 6 participated in structured social interactions with severely handicapped children, and an attitude survey was administered to measure the effects of the intensive contact upon them and their classroom peer group. Results over two semesters of the program revealed significantly higher acceptance of individual differences on three attitudinal dimensions by children at an experimental school (n = 241) in comparison to children from schools where no severely handicapped children were enrolled (n = 288) and schools with severely handicapped children enrolled but without the interaction program (n = 288). Results support the development of personalized, peer-interaction interventions to facilitate social acceptance of child variance in integrated school settings.