‘Proving integration Works’ – how effective is the integration of students with PMLDs into the mainstream of an SLD school in increasing their opportunities for social interaction?

This chapter reports a study in which the experiences of two students with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLDs) in integrated and segregated settings were compared. The two students concerned attend a school which offers partial integration to students with PMLDs, based on individual need. Although there are many studies on the integration or 'mainstrearning' of students with disabilities, little has been written specifically on students with PMLDs, and there is almost no evaluative research. C. Ouvry suggests that students with PMLDs will benefit from the opportunity to develop and to generalize skills in a wider range of learning situations, which are more age appropriate. Although there is little evaluative research on the integration of students with PMLDs, some tentative conclusions can be drawn from research done on the educational benefits of integration with students with SLDs. This investigation analysed the social interaction of two students with PMLDs in an SLD school.