Can Students With Severe Cognitive Disabilities Have Friends?

    “It seems at least possible that friendships developed in inclusive settings will not be extremely deep or enduring when students are perceived as having very few skills, and when skill deficits often cause their peers to become caregivers. Under such conditions, the competency/deviance hypothesis would predict serious threats to the membership status and the social relationships of students with severe disabilities. As a possible example, Evans et al. (1992) observed that the assistance and physical affection provided by typically developing students declined by the second half of the school year. "Unfortunately," they noted, "so did other positive interaction categories" (p. 211). Alternatively, the students with disabilities might continue to be accepted as "members," or even be identified as friends, but their membership status could be reduced to the role of "mascot" because they are consistently perceived as aberrant (Cook & Semmel, 1999; Dentier & Erikson, 1959). Neither outcome is acceptable.” Billingsley and Albertson (1999)