NICOLA MADGE AND MEG FASSAM - Ask the Children. Experiences of Physical Disability in the School Years

London England, Batsford Academic and Educational, 1982. 1st Paperback Edition, Binding: Soft Cover, Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall 0713418966 Paperback Paperback. Couple of slight creases to corner back cover. How does it really fee to be young and disabled? And how to able-bodied children view their disabled peers> Seeking answers to these and other questions about the experience of disability, the authors decided to 'ask the children'. The result is a fascinating study which fills a number of gaps left by the existing literarture and has important implications for future policy and practice. In particular it makes a valuable contiburition to the current debate about the merits of integrated versus segregated education for the handicapped. The childre, aged between 7 and 16 are drawn from both special and ordinary schools in London, were questioned first about their understanding of their own and others' disability: how much had they been told by adults about their own condition, for example? They were then invited to talk about such fundamental aspectes of their lives as friendship, experience of school and family, social life and their ambitions for the future. One of the most original features of the research is its examination of the attitudes of able-bodied as well as disabled children - a major section, describing the reactions of both groups of disability in six hypothetical but commonplace school situations, is particularly illuminating in this respect. 158 pp.