ABSTRACT
Merely putting children into integrated settings and expecting them to get on with it is not enough. Indeed, moving special children to ordinary classrooms may have effects very different from those we hope for and expect. Johnson et al. (1983) have shown that ‘special’ pupils may be viewed in negative ways when they are introduced into mainstream classes. And Ferguson vividly describes the reaction of mainstream students to a group of ‘included’ autistic students; the teacher in charge of the project reported that ‘I even had a couple of them [mainstream students] scream, “Eek, he touched me” ’ (1992: 158). As Higgins (1992) makes clear, in order to effect inclusion many people must work hard to make it succeed. It does not happen on its own.
