Inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream child development research

Abstract

This study investigated whether children with disabilities are excluded from mainstream child development research. Fifteen per cent of 533 articles from Child Development and Developmental Psychology (1996–2010) were randomly selected. The exclusion rate was 89.9% when no mention of participants with disabilities was interpreted as exclusion and 66.7% when only studies mentioning disabilities were surveyed; 74% of studies did not provide justification for exclusion. Most studies could have included children with disabilities. Inclusion could be increased by adopting universal design principles and accommodations so that more children with disabilities can gain equal access to research opportunities and the benefits that accrue.

Keywords:

• children with disabilities
• research
• inclusion
• universal design

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this manuscript was presented at the 2011 biannual meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development as an invited Views of Two.

Notes

1. See www.random.org