Procedures for facilitating integration of autistic children in public school settings

The present study focuses on procedures for facilitating the social and psychological integration of autistic and autistic-like children into an elementary school. The effect on the attitudes and positive behavioral initiations of regular-class students toward their autistic peers were assessed as a function of (a) information about handicapped persons and controlled experiences with autistic children, and (b) autistic students' social skill training. Results revealed that regular-class students who had both received information about exceptionalities and participated in controlled experiences with autistic children had the most positive attitude and made the greatest number of positive behavioral initiations toward the handicapped subjects. In addition, most frequently, the regular-class students' behavioral initiations were aimed toward those autistic children who had received social skill training. Implications are drawn for placement of increasing numbers of severely handicapped children and youth in age-appropriate public school settings.