Delicate Threads: Friendships Between Children with and Without Special Needs in Inclusive Settings [Paperback]

Debbie, PH.D. Staub (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1998

Provides an insider's view of the social lives of children with and without disabilities. It combines the voices of children with critical information from developmental literature.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An insightful guide to how children's friendships unfold when one child is developmentally disabled. Includes case studies from research conducted by the author, and help for parents hoping to understand and encourage these potentially life-enriching relationships. A 1999 Parents' Choice® Approval. (Parents' Choice®) -- From Parents' Choice

From the Publisher

A Review... "Most parents and professionals would agree that friendships are one of the most important outcomes of the childhood years. Within the past decade, there has been strong and growing interest in relationships between children with and without disabilities in inclusive settings. Given the increasing attention to peer relationships in inclusive environments, Delicate Threads finds an important place in the growing body of literature on friendships. In the author's own words, this book shares "stories about seven pairs of children. Each pair woven together by the delicate threads that bind them together in the name of friendship."

This book, while offering it fresh and unique perspective on childhood friendships, speaks to a range of different audiences. It will appeal to researchers , administrators, and educators alike because of the logical and clearly articulated link between theory, research, and practice. This is also a book that is likely to be found in neighborhood book stores. Parents will find it to be helpful in understanding the importance and dynamics of children's friendships. Not only can university students in education and related fields learn about the benefits and personal struggles associated with childhood friendships, they can also gain practical information about how to support membership and friendships in the classroom. The wide appeal to a diverse audience is due to the author's ability to weave research and theory into the delicate fabric of each story about friendship.

Delicate Threads describes the stories of friendships between seven pairs of children including a child with a disability, in an inclusive elementary school in the Pacific Northwest. In addition, this book is designed to discuss knowledge about childhood friendships, as well as to share information learned by the author during her work as a research associate for the Consortium for Collaborative Research on Social Relationships of Children and Youth with Severe Disabilities. Delicate Threads is a perfect, yet unique companion to another important book that also resulted from the Consortium's efforts, Making Friends: The Influences of Culture and Development (Meyer, Park, Grenot-Scheyer, Swartz, & Harry, 1998). In Delicate Threads, the author continues the discussion about friendships. She addresses new and thought-provoking questions about children with and without disabilities: What kinds of meaning do children bring to their friendships? What happens to friendships over time? What are the mutual benefits, potential drawbacks, and concerns experienced in these friendships?

The book is divided into three main sections. The first section. "Friendship, Disability, and Outcomes," includes six chapters on the nature, stages, and benefits of friendships. The Introduction and
Chapter 1 provide a meaningful discussion on friendships as "an essential part of being human." The author describes the importance of friendships and shares her experiences about how this book came to be. The stories of friendships have emerged from data gathered over several years. Using qualitative research methods including personal interviews and direct videotaped observations, the author followed five pairs of friends for 3 years and two more pairs of friends for 2 years. A detailed account is provided about the qualitative methods used to examine these friendships. The author carefully crafts rich portraits of the children. How their relationships evolved, and in some cases, ended. The reader is introduced to each friendship pair and quickly learns that each story illuminates the value, uniqueness and interdependence of childhood companions.

Chapters 3 and 4 offer insight into the developmental nature and stages of the life of a friendship. They explore the formation, maintenance and termination of friendships and provide an important discussion about the skills and expectations that children experience in friendships.
Chapters 5 and 6 examine nature of reciprocity and acceptance. The positive and shared benefits for children with and without disabilities is a strong and recurring thread found not only in these chapters, but throughout the entire book. In a compelling discussion, the author examines experiences between children with and without disabilities and their influence on morality, altruism, and prosocial behavior.

In the second section, "Loneliness, Expectations and Other Concerns," an important discussion is presented about children who do not have friends.
Chapters 6 and 7 provide a meaningful framework for understanding specific challenges and the fragility of friendships. The author raises key questions such as: Who are the lonely children? Why don't they have friends? This section offers a legitimate and important emphasis on the implications of loneliness for children with disabilities. A provocative discussion on the challenges associated with friendships between children with and without disabilities raises critical issues around the concept of helping. These and other issues, which are embedded within real-life stories, help the reader to understand the significance, complexity and vulnerability of peer relationships in childhood.

The last section of the book, "The Significance of Meaning, Context and Adult Support," provides a necessary and logical bridge between the questions and issues explored in the first two sections.
Chapter 9 confronts critical issues that have an impact on friendships (e.g.. family, culture) and
Chapter 10 offers numerous practical suggestions for promoting friendships in classroom communities. This extremely useful chapter examines supports and strategies for fostering friendships and membership within a classroom climate of respect and compassion.
Chapter 11 furthers the discussion about membership to "life beyond the school walls." The last chapter of this section,
Chapter 12 is an epilogue that provides the reader with one last glimpse into the lives of the friendship pairs. A selected reading list, which completes this section, offers additional reading on adult and childhood friendships and how to nurture them.

Delicate Threads is an important work because it bridges the gap between research and practice in a way that lends integrity to each of the stories shared throughout the book. This publication is reader-friendly because it both well conceptualized and organized. TASH members will undoubtedly want to have a copy of this book in their libraries because of the unique and timely contribution it makes to the field. This book masterfully weaves the humanness of each story into a rich and colorful tapestry about childhood friendships." (JASH 1999, Vol. 24, No.2--Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Woodbine House (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0933149905
• ISBN-13: 978-0933149908
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,558,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A conundrum mixing sensitive insights and generalities, September 23, 2004

By 

loce_the_wizard "loce_the_wizard" (Lilburn, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Delicate Threads: Friendships Between Children with and Without Special Needs in Inclusive Settings (Paperback)

"Delicate Threads" offers a conundrum for the reader. The artwork and testimonies pitch an impression that the author offers solutions and distills the wisdom of real-life experience. Moreover, the fact that this book does not focus on physical disabilities was not clearly articulated in the editorial reviews.

This book is more of a case study that details Dr. Straub's three-year study of seven pairs of children, a "normal" child and a developmentally disabled child. Despite the many interesting observations chronicled during this case study, the author too often, in my opinion, falls back on vague postulates such as "Between parental influences and all the complexities of cultural influences, understanding the influences on children's friendships can be an unpredictable process."

The author's conclusions are topical but often general, and the omission of children with physical disabilities---who often also have developmental disabilities placing them in double jeopardy for isolation---puzzles me.

Also, the striking lack of current research from the experts---most of the sources cited in this book are from the '80s and many are from the '70s---in the field proves again that the real experts are the parents of special needs children, and the wisdom of such parents (not just the comments from parents of the children in the case study) would have complimented and expanded the author's observations.

Despite such lapses, the author does address the topic with respect and sensitivity, noting that "It is the withdrawn, isolated child who is easily overlooked who becomes invisible." Her ideas for improving the social support for children with special needs are commendable but I suspect rarely employed in schools where the unruly rule and the disabled often languish.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inclusive education, November 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Delicate Threads: Friendships Between Children with and Without Special Needs in Inclusive Settings (Paperback)

I bought this book to use for my university dissertation on inclusive education. I found that it was an interesting and informative book and I ended up reading it just for the joy of it. She is perceptive about special needs and looks at special needs and inclusive eduaction from a novel angle. She aslo sheds insight on friendship as a whole by using her case studies of special needs and mainstream children.
A good book, highly recommended!