Abstract:
The educational community has developed many programs, support systems, and provided teacher training that is focused on promoting professional knowledge and skills, and acceptable support systems for students with special needs. However, there is little evidence that this has been successful in making changes, beyond the school. In an inclusive educational setting special education students are provided with the opportunities to develop social interactions with their peers within the structure of the classroom and the schools. Yet, for the great majority of these students, their socialization with peers begins and ends at the school door. The focus of this study will be to look for patterns of social development that assist some students to construct the transition into independent socialization, and to endeavor to distinguish factors that indicate why certain individuals are more successful with that transition. Individuals who were identified to receive special education services in the public schools in a predominately inclusive setting were the subjects of the research. Semi structured interviews with these adults and their families were conducted to gain insight into the patterns and paths that led to their current social status. Additionally, the researcher sought to recognize how the subjects perceive the notion of friendship and the significance that that social concept has in their lives.
