Social Relationships and Peer Support

Positive, mutually supportive relationships among students with and without disabilities are a critical part of inclusive schooling — they improve students' social skills and help boost academic achievement. This latest new edition in the Teachers' Guides to Inclusive Practices series helps educators foster meaningful friendships and helping relationships among their students. This second edition is enhanced throughout with

• the most recent legislative changes



• thoroughly updated references



• new peer support guidelines for middle and high school



• ready-to-use strategies on everything from teaching social skills to making peer instruction work

Complete with blank forms on implementing cooperative learning and assessing students' behavior and relationships, this highly readable guide gives educators proven and practical ideas for improving social connections among students with and without disabilities.

Rachel Janney, Ph.D., is an independent scholar and consultant who has worked with and on behalf of children and adults with disabilities in a number of capacities, including special education teacher, educational and behavioral consultant, technical assistance provider, teacher educator, researcher, and author. For a number of years, she was a professor in the School of Teacher Education and Leadership at Radford University in Virginia, where she taught courses and supervised student teachers in the special education program, specializing in the inclusion of students with extensive learning and behavior support needs. Dr. Janney received her master's degree from Syracuse University and her doctorate from the University of Nebraska—Lincoln.

Martha E. Snell, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Special Education, Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, 405 Emmet Street, Charlottesville Virginia 22904

Dr. Martha Snell is a Professor Emeritus of Special Education at the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia where she directed the teacher preparation program in severe disabilities for 30 years. With others, she has authored a number of books on teaching methods and the definition of intellectual disability and has been an active member of TASH and the American Association for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. She directed both federal and state grants directed toward the preparation of teachers and research with individuals having intellectual disability and autism and their teachers; more recently her research has concerned Head Start classrooms and young children at risk. Her research topics have encompassed the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms, effective teaching strategies, communication intervention, and positive behavior support for problem behavior.