A Rationale for Comprehensive Longitudinal Interactions between Severely Handicapped Students and Nonhandicapped Students and other Citizens

Abstract

If severely handicapped people are to function as independently and productively as possible in a variety of least restrictive postschool community environments, they must have comprehensive and longitudinal interactions with nonhandicapped persons during the educational years, In this paper some arguments in favor of interaction with nonhandicapped persons and some of the arguments in favor of the segregation of severely handicapped persons are delineated and briefly discussed in a point/counterpoint format. The authors strongly support comprehensive and longitudinal interactions between severely handicapped and nonhandicapped persons.