Presence, Proximity, and Peer Interactions of Adolescents With Severe Disabilities in General Education Classrooms

Abstract

The authors conducted 324 full-class-length observations of 108 high school students with severe disabilities in general education classes, focusing analyses on how often students were present during class and in proximity to peers without disabilities. Students were not present for a substantial proportion of the classes in which they were enrolled, and they were infrequently in proximity to classmates without disabilities when they were present. Observations of a comparison group of peers without disabilities enrolled in these same classrooms suggest missed social opportunities for students with severe disabilities. We also found that primary disability category (i.e., autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability) and type of class (i.e., academic, other) were associated with different patterns of presence and proximity.