International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling 7:181-195 (1984). © Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague. Printed in the Netherlands.

C H I L D R E N ' S ATTITUDES TOWARDS DISABILITY: A REVIEW A N D ANALYSIS OF THE LITERATURE

SUSAN B. WETSTEIN-KROFT and JAMES W. VARGO University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, Edmonton Alberta, Canada

Abstract

A first step towards the design and implementation of a successful mainstream- ing program requires a careful examination of two key issues. First, what are children's attitudes towards disability, and second, what are the critical elements involved in facilitating attitude change? This paper examines the current research literature on children's attitudes towards disability and programs aimed at at- titude change. The review culminates in a synthesis of the key themes and issues involved and provides a foundation for further study.

Introduction

Over the last twenty years, movement towards the education of the handicapped in the 'least restrictive environment' has received considerable attention (Allan, 1981). This movement achieved legislative support in the United States with the passing of Public Law 94-142, The Education for all Handicapped Children's Act, in 1977. This law encouraged the integration and mainstreaming of han- dicapped students into regular classrooms. Although the goals of mainstreaming encompass both academic and social objectives, it is evident that successful mainstreaming requires the facilitation of constructive relationships between handicapped students and their nonhandicapped peers. (Johnson and Johnson, 1980). In order to maximize its effectiveness, the practice of mainstreaming re- quires the reciprocal development of positive attitudes between handicapped and nonhandicapped children.

The recent widespread focus on mainstreaming has been paralleled by the realization that children's attitudes towards their disabled peers are a critical ele- ment for the success of any program aimed at integration.

This paper examines children's attitudes toward disabilities and the research literature on attitude change. This review culminates in a tentative formulation

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of the key themes and techniques for the facilitation of positive attitudes towards disability.

Attitudes towards disabled persons have been well documented in the research

literature. Numerous investigations have substantiated the finding that physically handicapped individuals are viewed less favorably than their nondisabled peers. (For a comprehensive review of this literature see Donaldson, 1980). The majori- ty of attitude studies have focused on adults. Comparatively fewer reports have examined children's attitudes towards their disabled peers (Rapier et al., 1972). As integration opportunities for handicapped students increase, attention to the attitudes of nondisabled children is critical (Voeltz, 1980).

An early study by Jones and Sisk (1967) examined when and how children form perceptions of orthopedic handicaps. The subjects were 230 nondisabled children between the ages of two and six. Each child was shown two pictures: a same sex child with leg braces and a same sex child without leg braces. Children were asked to respond to the question, 'Would you play with him?' The results indicated that four to five year olds perceived the disabled as 'less likely to have fun at a carnival than the nondisabled' (p. 43). These researchers concluded that by age four, children perceived disabilities as a restrictive influence on one's life.

A similar conclusion was reached by Weinberg (1978) who reported on two studies designed to assess preschoolers' understanding of disablement. Subjects were three year-olds (N = 25), four year-olds (N = 53) and five year-olds (N = 23) who viewed a same sex child either in a wheelchair or a regular chair, then responded to questions designed to measure liking, ability, sharing, and social approval. Although the results showed no difference in ratings of the disabled vs. nondisabled stimulus, there was a clear indication in both studies that the respondents' understanding of disablement increased dramatically at ages four and five.

Centers and Centers (I 963) studied the attitudes of children towards their peers with upper limb amputations. A 17-item social discrimination questionnaire was developed in order to assess attitudes about appearance, social relationships and popularity. The questionnaire was administered to 28 classes. Fourteen classes contained children with upper limb amputations. The children ranged in age from 5 to 12 years. The results indicated that amputee children were least liked by their peers and regarded as the saddest children in the class. These researchers expressed a concern for the effects these attitudes have on the disabled child's self-esteem, confidence and acceptance of a prothesis.

Using a sample of young adolescents, Parish and Copeland (1978) gave the Personal Attribute Inventory for Children to 131 students in grades five, six and seven. The respondents were instructed to select 15 adjectives which best de- scribed three groups of handicapped and normal children. Student responses in- dicated a clear preference for normal children first, physically disabled children

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second, learning disabled children third, and emotionally disturbed children fourth.

Richardson (1970) evaluated a developmental pattern of children's attitudes towards disability from kindergarten to high school. Subjects preference rank ordered a series of same sex drawings of children with functional and cosmetic handicaps. Functional handicaps included a child sitting in a wheelchair and a child with crutches and leg braces. Cosmetic handicaps included an obese child and a child with a facial disfigurement. Parents were later asked to follow the same procedure as if they were a child 10 years of age. The results indicated that with the exception of kindergarten children, the child without a handicap was

liked more often than the child with a handicap. The picture of the obese child was consistently low in ranking among males and females across all age levels with the female subjects preferring the obese child less than the males. While preferences for the child with a leg brace and crutches and the child in the wheel- chair became more liked with increasing age, the child with a missing hand and facial disfigurement became less liked. For the two cosmetic handicaps, the decline in preference occurred around the onset of puberty. Moreover, with in- creasing age, children's expressed preferences approximated those of their parents. These researchers concluded that the 'orderliness in preference shifts by age provides additional evidence that the preferences reflect widely-held learned values toward disability' (p. 211) which are based on social meanings held by the child's cultural group. Based on Kagan's (1966) findings it was further reasoned that preference ordering in the younger child is based on the degree of perceived similarity between himself and the other child. Anxiety and fear are aroused when a child's appearance is considered highly discrepant from the norm.

This postulate may apply to adolescents as well. In a study conducted by Siller, Chipman, Ferguson and Vann (1967), both junior and senior high school students reported feeling uneasy and uncomfortable when in personal contact with a disabled person. Nonetheless, it is clear that social interactions can be or- chestrated to decrease the likelihood of a negative experience for the nondisabled participant. This can be done by ensuring that the disabled participant is socially skilled at putting others at ease (Evans, 1976; Britton and Thomas, 1972; Gresham, 1982) or by defining the disabled participant's role in the interaction within the context of a coping framework (Jaffe, 1967).

The importance of age and contact variables in attitude formation were ex- plored by Voeltz (1980). She administered an attitude survey to 2,392 elementary school students who had experienced varying degrees of contact with disabled peers. Voeltz reported that the most positive attitudes were expressed by students from the upper elementary grades and also by those from schools which were physically integrated. In general, girls expressed more interest than boys in engaging socially with disabled peers.

Richardson et al. ((1961) conducted a study in which handicapped and

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nonhandicapped children from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds were asked to rank order a series of drawings in order of preference. These drawings pictured a child without a physical handicap; a child with leg braces and crutches; a child sitting in a wheelchair covered with a blanket; a child with a hand missing; a child with a facial disfigurement and finally a picture of an obese child. These researchers hypothesized that the children in the study would preference rank these pictures in the order stated regardless of cultural background and physical status. The results confirmed this hypothesis. Richardson et al. suggest that the face was the critical feature in preference ordering. Proximity of the disability to the face had a significant bearing on degree of aversion.

Richardson's methodology was replicated in a study of 1,333 ten and eleven year-olds in Israel (Chigier and Chigier, 1968). However, unlike Richardson et al.'s findings, these authors concluded that the only significant factor related to attitude in their sample was socioconomic status (SES). Respondents from low SES neigborhoods tended to prefer the drawings of children with cosmetic han- dicaps over those with physical handicaps. Conversely, respondents from high SES areas preferred drawings of physical over cosmetic handicaps.

Richardson et al.'s concept of 'cultural uniformity' in attitudes towards the disabled has recently been criticized by Yuker (1983). It is Yuker's contention that the appearance of cultural uniformity in attitudes towards disabled children is essentially an artifact of the procedure used in this type of research (The Pic- ture Ranking Test). Moreover, when other methodological procedures are used a culturally uniform result fails to emerge.

Attitudes of the disabled towards themselves and their disabled peers

It is important to recognize that the disabled are not simply passive receivers of other people's attitudes (Dixon, 1977; Evans, 1976). Therefore, in any discussion of attitudes and attitude change, it is also necessary to consider the attitudes that disabled people hold towards themselves and their disabled peers.

In her review of research concerning the attitudes of the handicapped towards their handicapped peers, Dixon (1977) summarized the results as follows: 1. Handicapped persons, like nonhandicapped persons, have negative attitudes

toward the handicapped. 2. Among the handicapped, these attitudes are not as negative as they are among

the nonhandicapped. 3. There is a tendency for handicapped persons to favor individuals with a like

handicap over those with a different handicap. 4. When individuals are asked to rank handicaps in order of preference, the

preference order which emerges is similar among the physically handicapped as it is among the nonhandicapped with the exception that a sample composed

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of people with a specific handicap may give preference to that handicap group. Richardson et al. (1961) reasoned that this finding is consonate with Kurt

Lewin's notion of assimilation, that the minority culture assimilates the values of the dominant cultural group. 'For handicapped children such assimilation is even more probable since they associate predominantly with the nonhandicap- ped' (p. 246). Allport (1954) has suggested that handicapped persons may accept unfavorable attitudes about themselves and apply these stereotypes to other disabled persons.

In a subsequent study, Richardson, Hastorf and Dornbusch (1964) obtained self-descriptions from 109 handicapped and 128 nonhandicapped children from ages nine to eleven. The authors concluded that the differences in self- descriptions for the two groups could be explained by three factors: (1) func- tional restriction imposed by the disability, (2) deprivation of social experience by the handicapped children, and (3) the psychological impact of the disability; for example, lack of confidence and greater use of negative self-statements.

These findings have several implications. First, if physically handicapped children internalize the attitudes of the dominant culture towards their disabilities, then one might suggest that this may be reflected in their behavior. This in turn may adversely affect their chances for becoming rehabilitated (Schneider and Anderson, 1980). Moreover, to the extent that physically han- dicapped children are restricted from establishing relationships with nonhan- dicapped peers, how can meaningful relationships be established with disabled peers? It seems apparent that a disabled person is capable of forming satisfying relationships with nonhandicapped peers only to the extent that he himself has positive attitudes towards the disabled (Dixon, 1977).

Contrary findings were reported by Parish and Copeland (1978) who admin- istered the Personal Attribute Inventory for Children to 216 handicapped and nonhandicapped children in a mainstreamed classroom. The handicapped children were classified as either physically disabled, learning disabled, or emo- tionally disturbed. Although the teachers had predicted that the handicapped students would rate themselves more negatively than their nonhandicapped classmates, the results showed no difference in personal attribute ratings for any of the groups.

Transmission of attitudes: the mass media

Several researchers (Jones and Sisk, 1967; Richardson et al., 1961; Wright, 1960) questioned how prejudices toward the disabled are learned. In recent years in- creasing attention has been paid to the powerful influence exerted by various branches of the mass media in the perpetuation of disabled stereotypes (Elliott

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and Byrd, 1982; Thomas and Wolfensberger, 1982; Weinberg and Santana, 1978). Thomas and Wolfensberger (1982) criticized pro-disability service groups for poor basic business practice in the way that they portray handicapped people to the general public. These authors go on to argue that business and industry would not dream of packaging their advertising appeals in the same negative wrappings as do the human service industries.

Baskin (1974) analyzed 45 books from an elementary school library. The physically disabled were portrayed as either incompetent and lacking in skills or as possessing extraordinary talents and abilities. Weinberg and Santana (1978) analyzed all the superhero comic books available in a large drugstore. In all, 40 comic books were included in the analysis. These researchers noted that characters with physical abnormalities were more likely to be portrayed as evil, perpetuating the myth that exterior characteristics are reflective of interior qualities. Other characters were portrayed as unusually good. This implies that for physically disabled persons to overcome their inferiorities, they must possess extraordinary qualities. No characters were portrayed as average or ordinary. These authors concluded that the widespread readership of comic books has a profound influence on the communication of prejudicial attitudes towards the physically handicapped.

In response to the paucity of children's books in which physical abnormality is depicted in the context of behavioral normality, Mauer (1979) adapted a children's story ('My Friend John,' by Charlotte Zolotow) in which 'mutual dependence of the physically disabled and non-disabled is presented, and in which the strengths and weaknesses are presented and counterbalanced in both disabled and nondisabled characters' (p. 326). This book was used as a technique to study how very young children (both disabled and nondisabled) would identify with the disabled hero. The subjects were 127 children (61 physically disabled and 66 nondisabled) ranging in age from four to eight years. After the story was read to the children in groups of four, the researcher posed several questions: 1) if you were feeling bad, which boy would know how you felt? 2) if you were frightened, which boy would understand how you felt? 3) which boy is a better friend? 4) which boy is like you?

With respect to identification, Mauer found that the disabled children iden- tified significantly more with the disabled hero. Conversely, the nondisabled children identified more strongly with the nondisabled hero. In terms of friend- ship preferences, Mauer found that both nondisabled and disabled children equally preferred either hero. However, when males and females were analyzed separately, sex differences emerged. Disabled males identified more strongly with the nondisabled hero and also preferred him as a friend. Nondisabled boys iden- tified with the nondisabled hero as a friend whereas nondisabled girls perceived similarity between themselves and the disabled hero but preferred a nondisabled male as a friend. Mauer also noted that most of the respondents recognized and

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reacted to the fact that one of the heroes was disabled. She concluded that young nondisabled children are 'ready to relate to a disabled child, and that they perceive in the child's disability, qualities which are desirable or important in a relationship' (p. 328). She went on to suggest the use of children's stories as a method for shaping positive attitudes towards exceptionality. Part of the gap in this area has also been filled by Spell and Carlson (1981) who have provided a bibliography of books appropriate for helping children, aged two to five, deal with various types of handicapping conditions.

Studies of attitude change

Little research attention has been devoted to the 'hows' of changing attitudes towards the disabled. Kutner (1971) charged that 'changing beliefs and attitudes about the disabled is spoken of much, but little has been done to help understand how change might be brought about ' (p. 155). This is especially true in relation to attitude change with children. Moreover, Donaldson (1980) and Evans (1976) comment that a major limitation of past research efforts has been their failure

to formulate studies within a theoretical framework of attitude change. Donaldson (1980) identified several techniques used to promote attitude change. Among these are indirect contact with or exposure to disabled persons; group discussion, and disability simulation. In the sections to follow, the research evidence purporting to the effectiveness of each technique with children is evaluated and discussed.

Indirect contact studies

Social psychologists (Asher, 1973; Bryne, 1961; Bryne and Griffit, 1966) have suggested that increasing perceived similarities between handicapped and nonhandicapped individuals might alter misconceptions and negative attitudes through the facilitation of attraction between the two groups (Westervelt and McKinney, 1980). Based on this assumption, Westervelt et al. (1980) studied the effects of a brief film highlighting similarities between handicapped and nonhan- dicapped children on a sample of 98 fourth grade students. Using a pre-posttest experimental design, the results of the experiment indicated that students viewing the film were more attracted to a child in a wheelchair, than students who had not viewed the film. However, students were not significantly more attracted to a child with crutches. The researchers concluded that ' the increase in attraction to the child in a wheelchair was due to an increase in the experimental group's perception of similarity between self and the wheelchair bound child' (p. 294). However, these results were not maintained at the second posttest nine days later.

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These authors suggested that a film may be a useful aid in facilitating attitude change, i f presented in conjunction with other sources of information.

In contrast to Westervelt et al. 's proposition that increasing perceived similar- ities between the handicapped and nonhandicapped may facilitate positive atti-

tude change, Thurman and Lewis (1979) suggest that educators should also em- phasize the differences. These authors maintained that the failure to achieve en- during changes in attitudes towards the disabled is due to the neglect of main- streaming programs to address the issue of differences. They emphasized that the cognitive-perceptual system is attuned to the recognition of differences from ear- ly infancy and that the issue of differences must be confronted as a first step towards meaningful social interactions.

Perkins Karniski (1978) conducted a study with ninth grade children based on the premise that increased knowledge of physical disability would result in positive attitude change as measured by personal-space behavior. An experimen- tal group (N -- 20) received instruction relating to physical disability while a con- trol group (N= 19) received no instruction. The results indicated that a signifi- cant difference existed between the groups on how closely the children would ap- proach a person they believed to be disabled. In contrast, Miller (1981) reported that teaching children in grades three and five about several different disabilities did not significantly alter their negative attitudes although some positive shifts were obtained by the fifth grade students. Instrumentation may have been a fac- tor in these results, since attitudes were measured by a new scale (the Scale of Children's Attitudes Toward Exceptionalities) which was developed specifically for this study.

Rapier et al. (1972) assessed attitude change in 152 elementary school children towards orthopedically handicapped peers as a result of an integrated school ex- perience. Using a pre-posttest design with an interval of one year, Rapier et al. employed a semantic differential technique to assess attitudes prior to and following integration. Children were shown twenty pairs of polar adjectives ar- ranged on a three point scale and asked to pick which adjective best described a handicapped person. At posttest, handicapped children were perceived as stronger, more curious and not in need of as much attention or help as originally believed. Rapier et al. concluded that 'these findings show the importance of pro- viding favorable interactions with orthopedically handicapped children so that nonhandicapped children can develop a more positive and realistic perception of this special population' (p. 233).

However, one of the limitations of the Rapier et al. study was the failure to describe how the development of 'meaningful interactions' were structured. Moreover, it would have been a valuable adjunct to the study, if pre-post at- titudes of the disabled children towards their peers and themselves had been evaluated. As suggested earlier, most studies of attitude change fail to consider the effect of the disabled's negative attitudes in the development of meaningful

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interactions. Implicit here is the perception of the disabled as having no control over or effect upon their interactions with their peers. Future studies should in- corporate this variable as an important aspect of how positive attitudes in

children are developed. Lazar, Gensley and Orpet (1971) developed a special four week instructional

program to determine if mentally gifted young children could benefit from an in- structional program designed to foster more positive attitudes towards disabili- ties. These children were divided into two groups. One group (N = 23) received a special instructional program while the other group (N=21) did not. The ATDP (Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons) scale was used as the pre-posttest design measure. Over the four week period, the students studied illustrious dis- abled figures in American history (Roosevelt, Franklin, Helen Keller). In addi- tion, special guests (disabled and nondisabled) were invited to present weekly lec- tures about their work with the disabled. Comments from the children were re- corded such as, ' they look just like us'. At posttest the ATDP scores for the ex- perimental group had shown a significant increase, while those for the control group did not change.

The study by Lazar et al. (1971) suggests that when interactions between the disabled and nondisabled are structured, positive attitude changes can occur. However, these researchers neglected to indicate whether the attitude changes were maintained over time. Moreover, these researchers exposed children to disabled persons who were often exceptional in their accomplishments. This may serve to reinforce the stereotype that in order to contain the effects of a disabili- ty, the person has to be exceptional in his personal qualities. Perhaps exposure to a variety of individuals in different work situations would enable children to view disabled persons within a framework of behavioral normality.

This study points out two significant features of attitude change. The first is time. Many studies on attitude change have introduced a limited experiential treatment at one point in time. Perhaps one of the key elements in this study is the recognition that attitude changes take time to occur.

Second, another important aspect of attitude change appears to be a recogni- tion of a perceived similarity between the disabled and nondisabled. This feature of attitude change was recognized by Hoyt (1978) who developed a television program designed to portray the commonalities shared by disabled and non- disabled children.

Group discussion

Group discussion is a common technique in attitude change programs (Book- binder, 1978; Ross, 1981). Siperstein et al. (1977) assessed the effects of group discussion on children's attitudes towards their handicapped and nonhandicap-

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ped peers. Eighty sixth-grade students (48 males and 32 females) from an upper middle class community participated in this investigation. These researchers hypothesized that children's attitudes towards an unattractive handicapped child would become more negative following group discussion. Conversely, they reasoned that children's attitudes towards a nonhandicapped peer would become more positive. Empirical justification for these propositions was based on past research findings with adults which suggests that group discussion only serves to polarize and intensify attitudes which were originally more moderate in their

expression. In the experimental condition, the children were divided into twenty groups of

four. Ten groups of children were friends. The other ten groups were not friends. Half the groups viewed an academically competent, normally appearing child perform on a spelling test. The other half viewed an academically incompetent, abnormally appearing child perform on a spelling test. Data were collected at three intervals. First, testing was individually administered after the viewing. Sec- ond, group testing was conducted during group discussion of the target child. Third, testing was individually administered following group discussion. An ad- jective checklist containing words to describe the target child's academic com- petence (smart-dumb); appearance (dirty-neat); social behavior (friendly-selfish); or feelings (sad-happy) was used to assess attitudes during the conditions out- lined. The findings supported the conclusions of earlier studies. Attitudes towards children 'in the competent conditions remained positive from pre to post discussion, while children in the incompetent condition became significantly more negative from pre to post discussion' (p. 134). These authors concluded that unstructured discussion can negatively influence children's attitudes. The necessity for effective group leadership in attitude change programs was em- phasized.

Disability simulation

Although many authors consider role playing to be a valuable technique for in- ducing positive attitude change (Clore and Jeffrey, 1972; Pulton, 1976; Sarbin, 1964; Westervelt and Turnbull, 1980; Wright, 1960) only one study was found which systematically employed this strategy with children. Lipsky (1978) assigned 90 elementary school students to one of three groups: simulation treatment, audio-video treatment, and no treatment. All groups were pre-posttested with an anxiety scale and an attitude scale. The simulation treatment group was the only group which demonstrated a reduction in anxiety and a positive shift in attitudes on the posttest measures. Moreover, Handlers and Austin (1980) successfully im- plemented disability simulation in order to foster positive attitudes in a group of 18 high school students. However, this technique was combined with informa-

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tion and both direct and indirect contact, making it impossible to determine the relative effects of disability simulation alone. Similarly, Jones et al. (1981) had children aged seven to nine participate in disability simulation exercises in con-

junction with information, direct contact, and film viewing. Pre-posttest com- parisons of their five hour program reflected a positive trend toward attitude change.

Wright (1960) cautioned that the use of the role playing technique may have negative consequences if it is not designed carefully. She warned that role playing a disability may also induce feelings of frustration, loneliness, fear and

helplessness, which may become projected onto disabled people as a group (Westervelt and Turnbull, 1980). Wright suggested that a carefully designed role playing activity should include the opportunity for the role player to successfully cope with the situation. Westervelt et al. (1980) have elaborated this notion. They commented that when the role player experiences frustration, the action should be stopped and all the children included in a brainstorming session aimed at determining how to effectively handle the situation. 'The intent here would be to emphasize the more satisfying coping side of living with a disability rather than only the disconcerting aspects' (p. 899).

Changing attitudes: some conclusions

The research evidence presented indicates the necessity for considering a number of variables related to the promotion of positive attitude change. These are:

1. Time. Changing attitudes take time to occur. Implicit in most studies is the expectation that a single experience, at one point in time will result in enduring attitude shifts. The failure of many studies to achieve a maintenance in the changed attitude indicates that single experiences are not sufficient to produce long term changes.

2. Motivation. According to Suedfeld (1971), attitudes serve a function. Theorists speculate that attitudes provide structure, help to process new informa- tion and maintain self-esteem. Once an attitude is formulated, it requires a reason to change. 'The reason must be beyond a mere encounter with new infor- mation; the new attitude must be more pleasing or useful in some way than the old' (p. 6). Programs for changing attitudes in children must consider this motivational aspect of change if enduring change is likely to occur.

3. Equal Status. Donaldson (1980) has suggested that in order to facilitate at- titude change through direct contact approaches, it is critical that 'disabled per- sons have at least equal status in relation to nondisabled persons' (p. 505). She defines equal status as similarity in age, social, educational or vocational status. Nonstereotyped attitudes are more likely to emerge if an equal status relationship is perceived, or if the disabled person is higher in status (e.g. adult to child).

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4. Perceived Similarity. Several studies reviewed (Westervelt and Turnbull, 1980; Lazar et al., 1971; Mauer, 1979) indicate that perceived similarity between oneself and the disabled is an important aspect of attitude change. Westervelt (1980) and Thurman et al. (1979) suggest that differences between the nondisabl- ed and the disabled should be addressed. A denial of the differences (implicit in most mainstreaming programs) may be a deterrent in producing enduring at- titude change, as it may cause anxiety and confusion for the child. However, if the differences are confronted, one can then move on to discuss the similarities between ourselves. Davis (1969) has formulated a model of interpersonal rela- tionships between the disabled and nondisabled. He says that once the dif- ferences are addressed, one then 'ceases to be aware of the handicap and reacts to the others personal characteristics' (cited in Westervelt, 1980).

5. The disabled as a vehicle for attitude change. Evans (1976) demonstrated that the disabled have a profound impact on effecting attitudes. Disabled persons have the power to reduce tensions and anxieties in interpersonal contacts. This serves to reduce the strain often associated with such contacts, and leads the way for positive attitudes to develop. Moreover, disabled persons have the power to challenge existing stereotype attitudes (such as helpless and hopeless) if they do not present themselves in a stereotypic manner (Donaldson, 1980). The literature points to the disabled as a powerful source for effecting attitude change. A con- sideration of this issue is important for attitude change programs for purposes of mainstreaming. If the disabled are powerful communicators and facilitators of attitudes as the literature suggests, then attitude change programs should also focus on social skills training for the disabled (Britton and Thomas, 1972; Gresham, 1982). Gresham (1982) has argued that most efforts to foster positive attitude change through mainstreaming programs have failed because it is not enough to simply force nondisabled children into social contact with disabled peers. Disabled children require social skills training before even prolonged con- tact can be expected to result in social acceptance by their nondisabled peers. This focus would emphasize some of the difficulties in interacting with non- disabled peers and provide the means for understanding and combating these dif- ficulties. This would serve to place the direction and quality of the interaction into an equal status relationship, thereby extending Donaldson's (1980) notion beyond the age and educational status variables proposed.

6. The importance of structured interactions. Donaldson (1980) has empha- sized the importance of structured and direct contact with the disabled for foster- ing positive attitude shifts. Studies in which the interactions were not guided had largely negative results, tending to reinforce stereotypes rather than challenge them.

7. Developmental considerations. Intervention programs with children should consider the relevant cognitive, affective and behavioral levels of the child in- volved. For example, until the child reaches concrete operations, he is unable to

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take the perspective of another child. Programs with younger children might be

more valuable if they were experientially-based, rather than information and

discussion oriented. The disability simulation type of experiment, in a well-

controlled situation may prove useful for preoperational children who are unable to take the perspective of another.

Broadly stated, the research literature on attitude and attitude change indicates

that the facilitation of positive attitudes towards the disabled must involve an in-

tegrated and cooperative effort from educators as well as the disabled and their families.

Conclusion

After reviewing the literature regarding children's attitudes towards the disabled,

it is apparent that the literature is fraught with conflicting results. Part of the dif- ficulty is due to faulty or inappropriate methodological procedures used to con-

duct the studies. Another source of confusion arises from the lack of a sound

theoretical framework for the design and implementation of attitude change pro-

grams for children. The absence of a sound theoretical framework in turn, stems

from undeveloped conceptual clarity regarding the nature and definition of

positive attitudes towards people with disabilities. What is a positive attitude and

how is it manifested?

Until these fundamental issues are addressed, research efforts will continue to

fall short of providing answers to the question of which strategies are most effec-

tive for which children in which situations.

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