Friendship, communication and inclusion in peer groups: Are the girls with special needs at a disadvantage?

The study which is presented in the article, is a part of a lager inv estigation of communicative competence, friendship and social inclusi on of children with special needs. The objective of the main study wa s to look into the communicative patterns and the related patterns of friendship in the age-group of 10-12 years, since mature friendships , based on the ability to master communicative codes and to take the perspective of others, appear to develop and become increasingly impo rtant around the age of 11. The article describes some of the result s of a survey that included 4th and 5th graders with special needs in the county of Sør-Trøndelag in Norway. The article focus on the gen der differences that were found in the survey material, and on the po ssible implications of these differences for girls versus boys with s pecial needs.