The Integration of Eight Down’s Syndrome Children into Regular Schools

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Abstract
Eight Down’s Syndrome children were integrated into regular classes in their local schools with specialist itinerant support after exposure to 3-5 years early intervention. Results of cognitive, academic and social measures indicated that the children functioned within the mild rather than the moderate range of mental retardation, and that they were within the range of variability tolerated in a regular classroom for social skills and for both oral reading and reading comprehension. On tests of mathematical achievement all but one child scored in the lowest percentile ranking. These results suggest that, following early intervention and with specialist support, Down’s Syndrome children can be successfully integrated into regular classes, at least until fourth grade primary school. The implications for school placement solely on the basis of IQ results and the need for maintenance of continuous data were also discussed.