What Katy did: a case study in communication between a pupil with severe learning difficulties and non-disabled classmates

The British Journal of Special Education has contributed substantially to debates on the principles and practice of integration. Dr Ann Lewis, Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Warwick, extends that work by providing evidence about the quality of interaction in a setting in which special and mainstream pupils worked regularly together over the school year. This case study highlights the complexity of such contexts and the difficulties in successfully fostering equal and complementary roles. She highlights the sensitivity, but dominance, of the mainstream children when working with special school work partners, who, although actively involed in the interaction, tended to take subservient roles.