COMMUNICATION AMONG PRESCHOOLERS WITH AND WITHOUT DISABILITIES IN SAME-AGE AND MIXED-AGE CLASSES

Communicative interactions of preschool children with and without disa bilities in classrooms of same or mixed ages were compared. Sixteen ch ildren with developmental disabilities (most with mild or moderate men tal retardation) and 32 children without disabilities between 1.5 and 4.5 years of age were randomly assigned at the beginning of the school year to either a same-or mixed-age grouping of 6 children. They were observed 6 months Later interacting with classmates in a standard free -play environment. Results showed that children in mixed-age classes t ook more turns in conversations with partners with disabilities than d id children in same-age classrooms. They also received more turns from their partners with disabilities, which were more often responses tha n initiations in the mixed-age as compared to same-age classes. In con trast, during communicative interactions with partners without disabil ities, children in both types of classes did not significantly differ in number or types of turns. Children of a similar developmental level also had similar communicative interaction styles.