ABSTRACT
In the two decades since the move toward deinstitutionalization began, handicapped children have spent an increasing amount of their time in the company of nonhandicapped children. This chapter focuses on handicapped children's relationships with nondisabled youngsters and their potential effects on children's well-being and development. It examines both sibling and peer relationships, emphasizing the unique characteristics of these relationships as contrasted with adult-child relationships. Family structure, the family's social and financial resources, and the interpersonal dynamics within the family, however, do appear to affect the ways in which children respond to their handicapped brothers and sisters. The chapter also examines both the potential developmental consequences of disabled children's experiences with other youngsters as well as the processes through which these outcomes may arise. It then turns to a consideration of the conditions under which children may develop more positive relationships with nondisabled youngsters, concluding with suggestions for possible intervention goals and strategies.
