ACCEPTANCE-REJECTION OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN MAINSTREAMED PRESCHOOL

The purpose for this study was to examine whether in mainstreamed preschools normal children accept or reject children with special needs. Two hypotheses were generated to study this problem: (1) When normal preschool children are asked to select playmates, there will be no difference in their selection frequency between normal and special needs preschool children; (2) The special needs preschool children will receive more positive than negative social interactions from their normal peers.;The test for the first hypothesis was a five-part sociometric interview designed to ascertain the playmates, both normal and with special needs, of the normal children. One hundred and eight normal children were asked with whom they liked to play during block play, housekeeping, and out-of-door play, and with whom they liked to sit during snack and group. The test for the second hypothesis was an observation procedure during which 19 special needs children (physically handicapped; psychosocially deprived; language problems) were observed over a two-day sequence at selected time intervals. Recorded were positive and negative social interactions received by the special needs children from their normal peers during free play, snack and group.;A chi-square test was used to analyze the sociometric interview data. The first hypothesis was rejected; not all special needs children were selected as playmates as frequently as anticipated. A calculation of percent of received positive and negative social interactions was used to analyze observation data. The second hypothesis was accepted as special needs children were receiving more positive than negative interactions.;Following analysis of the data as related to the hypotheses, the investigator examined the accrued data for each special needs child as related to type of special need and type of preschool attended. Certain patterns began to emerge. Consistently accepted were children with physical needs whose play was similar to the play of normal children. Inconsistently accepted were children with language problems whose play was delayed in comparison to the play of normal children. Likewise, inconsistently accepted were children with Down's syndrome and children who were psychosocially deprived. The play of these children was both delayed and disruptive. Allthough children with physical special needs had not been integrated into academically oriented preschools, all other special needs children integrated into these preschools were inconsistently accepted by their normal peers. All special needs children who attended free choice play preschools were inconsistently accepted by their normal peers.;The conclusions drawn from this study are: (1) Special needs children integrated into regular programs are not accepted by their normal peers as frequently as are the normal children in a particular preschool. (2) While special needs children received from their normal peers more positive than negative social interactions, some play behaviors inherent in the positive social interactions are not age-appropriate. (3) Children with physical needs are accepted by their normal peers equally or even more than average. (4) Children with Down's syndrome, psycho-social deprivation and language problems are inconsistently accepted by their normal peers. (5) Children who are accepted by their normal peers were integrated into preschools which emphasize free choice play. (6) Children who are inconsistently accepted by their normal peers were integrated into preschools which emphasize structured lessons.