Smith L A, Williams J M
School of Education, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Child Care Health Dev. 2005 Jul;31(4):479-88. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2005.00532.x.
The present study explored typically developing children's (n = 77) understanding of the causes, controllability and chronicity of disabilities.
Children in each of four age groups (4-5 years, 6-7 years, 9-10 years and 11-12 years) were interviewed to explore their ideas about children with physical disabilities (minor: missing thumb; major: wheel-chair bound), sensory disabilities (blindness and hearing loss), learning disabilities (non-specific and Down syndrome) and emotional/behavioural difficulties (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and lack of social skills).
Significant age differences were found in children's understandings of the causes, controllability and chronicity of disabilities. Furthermore, children showed a greater understanding of salient disabilities.
Findings are discussed in terms of developmental changes and the role of experience in shaping children's understanding of disabilities.
本研究探讨了正常发育儿童（n = 77）对残疾的成因、可控性和慢性的理解。
对四个年龄组（4 - 5岁、6 - 7岁、9 - 10岁和11 - 12岁）的儿童进行访谈，以探究他们对身体残疾（轻度：拇指缺失；重度：轮椅使用者）、感官残疾（失明和听力丧失）、学习障碍（非特定型和唐氏综合征）以及情绪/行为困难（注意力缺陷多动障碍和社交技能缺乏）儿童的看法。
发现儿童对残疾的成因、可控性和慢性的理解存在显著的年龄差异。此外，儿童对明显的残疾表现出了更深入的理解。
从发育变化以及经验在塑造儿童对残疾理解中的作用方面对研究结果进行了讨论。
