This article examines the democratic potential of online communities by investigating the influence of network heterogeneity on social tolerance in an online gaming environment. Online game communities are potential sources of bridging social capital because they tend to be relatively heterogeneous. Causal analyses are conducted using structural…

This study investigated the effects of teaching sociodramatic scripts on interactions among three triads, each containing two typical preschool children and one child with autistic characteristics. Results supported the inclusion of systematic training of scripts to enhance interaction among children with and without disabilities during…

This study examined the strategies teachers use to promote social play in a mainstreamed early childhood program that included five children with special needs and five nonhandicapped peers. Results indicated that teachers can successfully facilitate peer play through initiation of play, participation in group play, elaboration of group play, and…

This study of the social interactions of 37 adults with severe disabilities in 18 supported employment programs found that workers in individual and enclave programs had more contact with nondisabled persons than did members of work crews, whereas there were no differences between individual and enclave sites. (Author/JDD)

This study of 14 children (ages 3-5) with disabilities participating in the Classwide Social Skills Program found that the program increased subjects' positive play and levels of teacher reinforcement, but these increases did not generalize to 3-month or 6-month follow-up periods nor to another play session in the day. (Author/JDD)

Three peer caregivers with moderate mental retardation worked to improve the occupation level of a passive man with profound mental retardation. The peer caregivers carried out meaningful activities with the trainee for 15-minute periods. The trainee received social reinforcement; the caregivers received tangible reinforcement. Use of multiple…

The effectiveness of peer-mediated intervention on the social behavior of eight socially withdrawn preschoolers was examined. Intervention conducted by classroom assistants resulted in the withdrawn preschoolers increasing their social interactions with peers during instructional triads and improving their behavior. (Author/JDD)

This study of 20 preschool children with disabilities and 8 normally developing children found that more peer interaction occurred during play activities that were more structured, whereas teacher interaction rates were not related to activity structure ratings. Among children with disabilities, rate of peer interaction correlated positively with…

This article introduces three papers about research projects of the Early Childhood Research Institute of the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania). The papers address peer-mediated strategies to promote communicative interaction, social behavior in preschoolers with special needs, and the importance of parents as intervention agents. (JDD)

This study involving three autistic and four nondisabled preschool children found that a peer-initiation intervention produced increases in peer initiations and social interactions when the teacher verbally prompted, but not without verbal prompts. When a correspondence training/visual feedback package was implemented, peer initiations and social…

The interactions of three dyads, consisting of one student with moderate mental retardation and one nondisabled peer, were assessed while playing computer games. Results indicated that students (ages 13-14) exhibited more frequent social initiations, higher degrees of game satisfaction, and equal/higher degrees of peer satisfaction while playing…

Two studies examined effects of combinations of setting events on social interactions of seven preschool children with language delays and social interaction deficits. The optimal combination of events for promoting peer interaction included teacher absence from the activity, a limited number and form of materials, and children paired with a…

Two children (ages seven and eight) with autism and moderate mental retardation, who engaged in stereotypic behavior, were studied to investigate the effects of social interaction with peers. Results found that when peers made social initiations and the children engaged in social interaction, collateral decreases occurred in their stereotypic…

Play-skills training, provided to eight Zambian elementary children with intellectual disabilities, resulted in more substantial increases in interaction between subjects and nondisabled children when coupled with teacher prompts, compared to training alone. Having a nondisabled child take the initiator role increased and maintained social…

This literature review considers research dealing with social skills instruction for handicapped preschool children in a mainstreamed or integrated setting. It offers a literature-based rationale for preschool mainstreaming, notes the fundamental objectives of preschool mainstreaming that relate to the process of socialization, and addresses the…