The development of a self-identity for students with disabilities poses a large problem for educators.  Many people in the learning environment believe that a mainstreamed approach for the students will enhance the development of a positive self-identity by the formation of peer oriented social groups.  This article discusses aspects of acknowledging
 the principles of developing this type of support group.
    The role of school personnel plays a large part in the facilitation of group support.  Allowing the development of these groups and encouraging  the student's interaction with the rest of the general education population can only enhance a persons self-worth.  It is important to note, that although educators and administrators can begin to set up a formal group session, the actions within the group itself be left up to the participants.  Allowing them to empower themselves within the group develops a larger self-identity.  It is important for these students to release their feelings to other members of the group without the intervention of staff personnel.  This is the only means we have to encourage these students to freely express themselves and to speak about anything they choose.  
     It is also important for the students to choose their type of support group to be involved in.  We do not want to group students with disabilities with other students with the same disability because as this article states it might become the students only safe haven.  We want our students to be involved with other facets of life, not just the ones given to them by their disability.  By being in a mainstreamed environment, the student has ability to choose their friendships that release some of the labels placed on them.  Within these groups, special bonds are formed between students that facilitates a positive self-identity.
     At my school,  we do not have any rather structured support groups between students.  The closest thing we have is a form of group therapy for the students who are in need of intensive counseling.  This is not an informal source of group support and these settings are rigidly structured.  Our students do not get to be selective about which group of people to converse with in these groups.  They are set up by the administration and members of the counseling department and since this is not a mainstreamed environment the diversity of students is limited to the multiple disabled.  They do not have the choices of forming their friendships.
       A large problem in our school is that our students only see the actions of other students with severe problems whether it is a learning, emotional, or a behavioral.  The problem with this is that they only see the negative social skills of other students.  This is what they imitate.  They are not subject to the normal routine of a general education classroom and they are not provided with positive interaction between mainstreamed students.  A large number of them imitate these behaviors because they think this is how they are supposed to act,  and others because they want the attention that is not provided in their home environment.     
    Although the restrictive learning environment does provide the students with disabilities the intensive settings they need,  the problem they posses are the lack of diversity that the general education curriculum encompasses and the lack of finding diverse group accompaniment.  The only way we can truly develop a positive self-identity in a child is to let them choose their relationships and this cannot be done in a school such as the one I work in because the of the lack of diverse stimuli.  In a mainstreamed environment we can attempt to erase some of the differences between the general education student and student with the disability causing an increased source of self-identity that will benefit everyone in the curriculum.