Friendship formation in adults with learning disabilities: peer-mediated approaches to social skills development.

Studies have indicated that people with learning disabilities have few friends. Making friends requires both opportunities and skills. This paper focuses on the development of skills in order to facilitate friendship; an area that has received limited attention in the literature. Traditional social skills approaches are considered briefly, before moving on to discuss peer-mediated approaches. Peer-mediated approaches appear promising, with positive changes in the social behaviour of children with disabilities reported. It appears few studies have directly investigated maintenance, and evidence of generalization is limited. Factors that may improve generalization and maintenance are discussed. Finally, consideration is given to whether peer-mediated approaches actually facilitate friendship, rather than simply increasing interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]