Peer acceptance, self-perceptions, and social skills of learning disabled students prior to identification.

This study addressed how learning disabled students prior to identification (LDPI), low-achieving (LA), average-achieving (AA), and high-achieving (HA) students compare on peer, teacher, and self assessments of social status and social skills in the fall and spring of kindergarten. Two hundred thirty-nine Black, Hispanic, and White students, 78% of a kindergarten population, participated. Controlling for age, sex, and achievement levels, four groups were identified: LDPI, LA, AA, and HA. In fall and spring of kindergarten all students were administered measures of peers' perceptions of social status, teacher's assessment of behavior problems and social skills, and self-perception. MANOVA and a stepwise discriminant function analysis revealed that as early as 8 weeks after entering kindergarten, LDPI students differed significantly from their peers on social variables and attention problems. Results suggest that later social difficulties of LD students are not solely a function of a history of low achievement and low teacher acceptance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)