ABSTRACT

For the past two decades, research has addressed critical issues related to the social competence of individuals with learning disabilities (LD). A significant body of literature highlights the social difficulties of youngsters with LD as compared to typically achieving, nondisabled peers (see, for reviews, Hazel & Schumaker, 1988; Pearl, Donahue, & Bryan, 1986). Studies have also examined the social development of individuals with LD relative to normal developmental patterns (e.g., Vaughn, Haager, Hogan, & Kouzekanani, 1992) and the extent to which within-individual differences occur over time (Vaughn & Hogan, 1994). According to Killen (1989), the ongoing, active, social processes of interpretation, evaluation, and coordination of social events are central to understanding social development in general. Indeed, most of the social competence research related to individuals with LD could be viewed as examining how individuals with LD interpret, evaluate, or coordinate social events.