ABSTRACT
This chapter describes that the author's interest in the role of interaction in the education of children with profound and multiple learning disabilities comes originally from the view that what we should be concerned to do when we work with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLDs) is to enable them to participate as far as possible in all that happens to them. Researchers in this field were gathering a mass of evidence which pointed to the importance of early interaction in the development of social, communication and cognitive skills in both handicapped and non-handicapped infants. The research was carried out in the PMLD classes of two London schools for children with severe learning difficulties. Any discussion of progress in relation to people with PMLDs is fraught with difficulties. However, the research discussed at the beginning of the chapter suggests that the development of interactive skills underpins progress in a range of other areas.
