Mental retardation in a child is always a difficult pathology to correct and a difficult test for parents. Most often, cognitive problems associated with pathology of the central nervous system are irreversible, so it is not possible to completely eliminate mental retardation. Correctional classes for children with mental retardation are aimed at improving the properties of higher nervous activity, as well as adapting to social life. They provide opportunities to independently take care of themselves in everyday life and earn money by doing simple but important work.
The task of correctional classes
Education of children with mental retardation in preschool institutions, specialized schools or individually at home should pursue the following goals:
- Develop basic speaking, writing and reading skills.
- Teach basic arithmetic and geometric skills and develop spatial thinking.
- Explain to the child the structure of the world and society, with an emphasis on possible dangers to life and health that can be encountered on the street, at home, in nature, etc.
- To develop the basic principles of etiquette and behavior in public places.
- Develop an understanding of your personality, knowledge of your contact information, addresses and coordinates of your parents.
- Teach terrain orientation, first within your apartment and then to important elements of urban infrastructure.
- Explain to the child situations when he needs the help of adults, especially in moments of threat to his life, health problems, etc.
Classes with a small patient should be conducted in the most accessible form for him (conversations, songs, games, etc.). If you plan to attend a secondary school, the format of education should change to one that is as similar as possible to the generally accepted one.
Thus, the main objectives of such correctional classes are the development of thinking skills, memory training, as well as social adaptation to life and situations that may arise in everyday life and society.
Children with mild mental retardation adapt to society quite quickly and are often educated in ordinary schools. They are also quite likely to receive vocational education and then work in certain conditions of industrial production, factories, etc. Children with severe forms of mental retardation need much more time to master basic speech and writing skills, as well as to develop successful independent communication with other people.
Where are they held?
Depending on where the child is being raised, as well as on the degree of mental disability, classes with him can take place both in specialized preschool institutions of both regular and boarding type, in special correctional classes of general education schools, or individually at home.
Corrective exercises for children with mental retardation should be carried out by specially trained teachers, taking into account the individual characteristics of the pathology, behavior and desire to learn. The advantage of collective classes and exercises compared to individual training is that the child adapts more quickly to his peers, can show his emotions and play more actively and willingly.
Depending on the age of the children, corrective exercises can take the form of active outdoor games, individual tasks, creative crafts, etc. Specialized institutions often have a fairly wide material base of various visual aids, special educational toys, etc., which facilitate the perception of information and better train the thinking of such children.
Unfortunately, group activities are often not available to children with severe mental retardation.
This is due both to the behavioral characteristics of such children (it is quite difficult for them to leave the familiar area where they live and play), the inability to care for themselves, and to the phenomena of psychiatric abnormalities that often accompany such pathology. Therefore, children with severe intellectual disabilities are usually homeschooled.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF MENTALLY RETARDED CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
HABILITATION OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH MENTAL RETARDATION
Education and training
for mentally retarded children and adolescents is part of the treatment and rehabilitation work and is actually habilitation.
Habilitation
children and adolescents with developmental disabilities - a process whose goal is to prevent the development of preventable disabilities during the period of treatment and to help people with disabilities achieve the maximum physical, mental and social fullness for which they are fit, within the framework of the existing disease or condition.
Purpose of habilitation
these children and adolescents - achieving a social status, educational, professional activity and level of activity that corresponds to their capabilities and will allow them to adapt socially.
Raising children with developmental disabilities is aimed at compensation. “Social usefulness is the final goal point of education, since all processes of overcompensation are aimed at gaining a social position” (Vygotsky L. S., 1983).
Psychological habilitation
aimed at compensating for mental disorders. In view of this, it is always psychological and pedagogical habilitation, and therefore it is often called correctional education. The correctional educational process is the mobilization of mental resources.
The task of psychological habilitation
- creation, unless prevented by the severity of mental disorders, of balance in the psyche and behavior of the child, corresponding to the requirements of the environment in which he lives. The ultimate goal of psychological habilitation is the inclusion and integration of the behavior of a mentally retarded adolescent (child) into the social environment in accordance with the requirements of life.
The efforts of psychological and pedagogical habilitation (correctional education) are aimed specifically at creating a system of methods and means of social adaptation, taking into account the complexity of mental development disorders in children and adolescents. At the same time, they should be available for implementation in the usual conditions of educational or medical institutions, with guidance from psychologists, teachers and doctors.
Deviations in the psyche and behavior of children and adolescents with developmental disorders are determined by many factors: the existence of persistent intellectual impairments, the presence of emotional and motor disorders in the clinical picture, etc.; the immutability of the underlying mental pathology; frequency or paroxysmal occurrence and course of other complicating mental or behavioral disorders.
Mental pathology in children with developmental disorders varies not only in its manifestations, but also in severity and origin. Naturally, their behavior depends on age and individual characteristics.
Whatever the characteristics of the mental retardation of children and adolescents, which give rise to behavioral deviations of varying manifestations and severity, in all cases the balance between them and the environment is disturbed, which leads to difficulties in adapting to it.
Due to impaired adaptation, these children and adolescents experience greater or lesser difficulties that prevent them from expressing themselves like most other intellectually competent children, and they need help, since without it they are not able to integrate into the social environment and take their place in society.
The indications that determine the need for psychological and pedagogical habilitation are different. Socio-economic indications arise in cases where a teenager (child), due to disturbed mental balance, limited abilities and mental retardation, is not able to fully engage in academic work and fit into the regime of an educational institution. Public funds and the efforts of educators are spent ineffectively, and adolescents (children) are not provided with the opportunity for development necessary for them to become full-fledged members of society.
The inability of a teenager (child) to mobilize his activity and abilities even with minor deviations from the norm can be a serious obstacle to the full development of his personality. Experiencing your difficulties will create additional disorders that are not directly related to the main disorder: anxiety, depression, lack of self-confidence, which will worsen the already low performance, adaptive capabilities and can lead to serious additional mental disorders. It is in these cases that psychological indications for habilitation appear, during which new relationships and new skills will have to be formed that correspond to the age and individual characteristics of the teenager (child) and are necessary for social adaptation and ability to work.
THERAPEUTIC PEDAGOGY AS A MEANS OF IMPLEMENTING HABILITATION
The existence of psychological and pedagogical indications for the habilitation of children lagging behind in their development led to the creation of a special branch of psychology and pedagogy that studies mental disorders and developmental anomalies in order to develop ways to overcome them.
Such a branch is therapeutic pedagogy
, i.e., the pedagogical influence of the presence of a developmentally delayed or sick child (teenager) for therapeutic purposes. The object of therapeutic pedagogy is all children with developmental disabilities who have difficulties while studying at school, while being raised in the family and at school, children who are pedagogically and socially neglected. The effectiveness of therapeutic pedagogy efforts is associated with the use of successes in developmental physiology, child and adolescent psychiatry, medical and special psychology, pathopsychology, mental hygiene, and individual and family psychotherapy. For example, collective psychotherapy is always a combination of psychotherapeutic and therapeutic-pedagogical methods. Psychotherapy always contains elements of education, and therapeutic pedagogy is accompanied by psychotherapeutic influence.
Objectives of therapeutic pedagogy
- correction of behavior, elimination of pedagogical and social neglect associated with developmental delays, stimulation of emotional, intellectual and social activity aimed at creating the opportunity and desire to learn (pedagogical habilitation), or acquiring professional skills. The task of therapeutic pedagogy for children with developmental delays is to stimulate and correct the development of the emotional, cognitive sphere, psychomotor skills, speech, and personality of the child.
The basic principle of therapeutic pedagogy
— unity of therapeutic and pedagogical processes. When developing a correctional pedagogical program, one should take into account the etiology of developmental delay, the degree of its severity, the main clinical manifestations of the leading disorder, the form of mental underdevelopment, the safe and compensatory capabilities of the child, the degree of social and pedagogical maladaptation, as well as the age of the child. In addition, an individual approach to each child is required, taking into account the uniqueness of development, the state of both mental and physical health and character traits. It is important to combine individual correctional educational work with the improvement of the surrounding microsocial environment.
The requirements for developmentally delayed children and adolescents must correspond to their mental and physical capabilities, which should help lift their mood, increase self-esteem and confidence in their abilities.
The leading figure in therapeutic and pedagogical work is a special teacher (defectologist), who, interacting with a child (adolescent), creates an emotional positive atmosphere and thanks to this has great opportunities for corrective educational influence. Along with the teacher, doctors and nursing staff should take part in correctional educational work. A plan of therapeutic, corrective and educational measures is drawn up by a special teacher, a special psychologist and a doctor jointly.
SPECIAL (CORRECTIONAL) PRE-SCHOOL AND SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Education of both mentally retarded children (adolescents) and mentally retarded children with behavioral abnormalities or personality disorders is carried out in open special educational institutions and in special closed educational institutions.
There is a network of special preschool educational institutions, preschool groups at special schools, special groups at general kindergartens, and special orphanages for children with mental retardation.
There are special educational institutions for school-age children in need of psychological, pedagogical and medical and social assistance, where correctional educational work is carried out. Slightly mentally retarded children study in special (correctional) educational institutions (classes, groups) of the 8th type.
Moderately and severely mentally retarded children and adolescents are sent to specialized boarding schools and orphanages. There, groups are organized for trained retarded individuals, in which they expand their orientation in their immediate environment and improve self-care.
General educational institutions are appearing where integration forms of education for children with disabilities are provided.
Educational institutions (centers, special vocational schools) of professional initial training also carry out correctional educational work.
Among students and pupils of special educational institutions, the number of children (adolescents) with developmental disabilities, victims of social and economic disasters, with delinquent behavior, with chronic somatic and psychosomatic diseases, etc. is increasing. This leads to the need to create for them in these institutions special psychological assistance.
CONTENT OF THE ACTIVITIES OF A SPECIAL PSYCHOLOGIST ON ADAPTATION OF MENTALLY RELATED CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
The main goal of the special psychological assistance service in the education system is to identify, eliminate and prevent imbalances between the processes of learning and development of children with special educational needs and their individual capabilities, to create conditions for socio-psychological adaptation, including further professional self-determination of students and pupils.
This main goal is realized in the following types of activities of a special psychologist:
1. Differential psychological diagnostics, aimed at identifying the psychological structure of the disorder, identifying safe development zones for selecting an appropriate educational institution.
2. Development of an individual psychological correction program consistent with the educational process and the psychological structure of the child’s development.
3. Assessment of the educational and social microenvironment to organize optimal conditions for the child’s learning and development.
4. Formation and implementation of an individual correction program integrated into the holistic process of psychological, medical and pedagogical correction of the development of a child with special educational needs; joint work with the teacher on the development of cognitive functions and the emotional-volitional sphere, correction of behavioral problems.
5. Providing assistance to teachers in organizing adequate conditions for education and upbringing for a child with special educational needs, recommendations regarding the teaching load, parameters and forms of assessing learning outcomes, taking into account
individual characteristics of the child, proposals for the selection and distribution of children in the class.
6. Consulting and assisting the teacher in organizing and developing interaction between students in the educational process and beyond.
7. Providing psychological support for parents and persons replacing them. Psychological counseling of families, aimed at developing an adequate educational approach to a child with learning problems, improving emotional contact with him, correlating the child’s capabilities with the requirements of the educational process.
8. Providing socio-psychological prerequisites for the effective integration of children and adolescents into the educational socio-cultural environment at different age stages of child development.
9. Formation of the psychological culture of subjects of the educational space in order to prepare the processes of integration of children with developmental disabilities into the sociocultural environment of the educational institution.
10. Formation among teachers, educators of educational institutions of parents, as well as children and adolescents, of the need for psychological knowledge, the desire to use it in working with a child or in the interests of their own development, creating conditions for full personal development (Shipitsy-naL. M, Zhdanova M. A., 1999).
CORRECTIONAL PEDAGOGICAL WORK WITH CHILDREN WITH DIFFERENT FORMS OF MENTAL RETARDATION
The content of correctional pedagogical work with children and adolescents lagging behind in development covers a wide range of everything that is necessary for social adaptation. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the capabilities of the mentally retarded individual and the compliance of the proposed loads with them. It is very important to begin corrective education and training of a mentally retarded child as early as possible, to determine the duration of this work, the time of its completion and the release of an individual with developmental disorders into an independent life.
One of the first places in this developmental correction is the development of communication skills, establishing relationships in peer groups and with adults.
Programs developed by JI are used to develop communication skills. M. Shipitsyna (1994,2000), T. D. Zinkevich-Evstigneeva, L. A. Nisnevich (2000), I. N. Mamaychuk (2003), etc.
Fostering in these children the right attitude and ability to learn, a positive reaction to help, interest in the world around them, and cognitive activity will improve not only their mastery of the school curriculum, but will also make it more effective to acquire the skills necessary to adapt to life. Forming adequate self-esteem will give the child more confidence in himself, reduce his fear of any activity and make it easier to carry out. To form a child’s (adolescent’s) self-esteem, it is necessary to carry out exercises and develop in him, in the process of any activity, an appropriate reaction to success and failure, to encourage him with trust, since it can become an additional stimulus for cognitive activity.
The training of tactile, deep sensitivity, hearing, vision and other senses in children with mental retardation deserves special attention in order to develop a more differentiated and active perception of the world around them. Improving gross and especially fine motor skills and spatial assessment of movements will not only expand the possibilities of moving and getting to know the outside world, participating in outdoor activities and games, but also improve the formation of speech and thinking. The development of mentally retarded children can be facilitated by the use of various pedagogical techniques, including one of the most effective - the method of comparison as a competitive form of analysis and synthesis, which increases their overall mental activity in the process of communicative teaching and upbringing. This method is the initial means by which the transition of an objective “external contradiction” into an “internal contradiction” is ensured, stimulating development. Through comparison, mentally retarded individuals will be able to perceive differences, similarities and similarities. They will be able to correlate the present and the real with the future, thus considering contradiction as a source of development. Comparison as an intellectual process will evoke in an individual his characteristic feelings and aspirations, acquiring great importance for the development of personality.
Corrective pedagogical work with mentally retarded children (adolescents) suffering from cerebrasthenia is carried out taking into account the mental weakness, fatigue, exhaustion, and memory impairment that they have, along with impairments in the cognitive sphere. In this regard, it is necessary to use techniques that facilitate memorization. Greater use of visual imagery can help. The creation of visual aids by students themselves also contributes to better learning of the material. Facilitating the taught material and reducing demands, combined with the provision of additional rest, are important conditions for therapeutic pedagogy in this form of psychopathology. With increased affective excitability, irritability and a tendency to quarrel, children need activities that correspond to their capabilities and to which they show a tendency. Involving them in social responsibilities makes adaptation easier.
Therapeutic pedagogy of mentally retarded adolescents (children) with personality disorders (psychopathy) is aimed at correcting pathological personal reactions associated with increased general excitability or inhibition, eliminating pedagogical and social neglect and associated asocial tendencies and a negative attitude towards learning. Success in correctional educational work can be achieved only with the coordinated actions of psychologists, social workers, teachers, doctors and family members. A strict regime, alternating study, work and rest should be the main condition for therapeutic and pedagogical measures. Among the various forms of labor education, they include involvement in useful and interesting activities: caring for animals, working in the garden and garden, in carpentry, sewing workshops, classes in art clubs, etc. Participation in collective work and social activities is of great importance for the re-education of patients. activities.
If increased affective excitability predominates, the most effective may be systematic work and sports, regular assignments, and the influence of a group discussing the behavior of a teenager (child).
When the syndrome of emotional-volitional instability is observed in mentally retarded children, it is necessary to develop an understanding of the feelings of others, a positive work attitude, and responsibility for the assigned work, which can reduce lack of independence, passivity and irresponsibility.
Mentally retarded children and adolescents with hysterical personality traits require an even attitude, without any discounts, an interesting and feasible activity for them, overcoming their ideas about their own exclusivity, learning the ability to subordinate their own interests to the interests of the family, team, and cultivating a sense of camaraderie.
Inhibited, timid, uninitiative and developmentally delayed children will be able to overcome these traits by involving them in collective forms of activity with constant encouragement for every even the slightest success.
The organization of correctional psychological and pedagogical work with mentally retarded children (adolescents) with personality disorders should take into account that, due to previous negative experiences, they have no interest in studying. The entire educational process should be harmonious and clear. The material should be presented as accessible and varied as possible. Knowledge assessment is carried out in a manner that is gentle on self-esteem. To restore motivation to study, it is advisable to give tasks in a clear form, accompanied by a plan for implementation, guaranteeing future success.
Therapeutic and pedagogical techniques, which are basic in the habilitation of individuals with developmental delays, must be combined with psychotherapy. Doubts regarding the lack of effectiveness of this approach in the process of socialization of mentally retarded individuals were put to an end already in 1911 by V. M. Bekhterev, who said the following in his report at the 1st Pedological Congress: “In states of retardation, depending on any individual conditions , as well as in cases of any other mental abnormalities in children, simple education alone is almost always powerless, and only psychotherapy turns out to be the method that sometimes corrects even very difficult cases neglected by education...”
However, until recently, systematic psychotherapeutic correction did not find its application. In previous years, the teacher, to a greater or lesser extent, intuitively used elements of psychotherapy (suggestion, rationalization, individual techniques of behavioral therapy, etc.). This approach differed from true psychotherapy in that this influence was not based on the unconscious part of the psyche, goals were not set that a mentally retarded individual could not set for himself, much less consolidate new, more adaptive types of behavior.
The possibility of using psychotherapy is determined by the suggestibility of individuals with mental retardation. The effectiveness of this method is confirmed experimentally. Under the influence of suggestion, the productivity of completing tasks in adolescents who have undergone psychotherapy increases by approximately 20%. Under the influence of suggestion in combination with subsequent psychocorrectional work in mentally retarded children and adolescents, mental activity and performance increase, and in case of behavioral disorders (theft, deceit, rude language, running away, etc.), social adaptation improves, as well as personal status increases (Wiseman N P., 1992). Hypnotherapy and therapeutic sleep are indicated for the treatment of neurotic reactions (enuresis, phobias, motor agitation) in mentally retarded children.
Labor training is an integral part of the correctional pedagogical process. G. M. Dulnev (1969) highlights its tasks: preparation for participation in productive labor as part of ordinary work teams, the use of the labor training process to correct significant deficiencies in cognitive processes and cultivate the positive personality traits of a lagging individual, facilitating his inclusion in the labor relations of people in ordinary team in production.
This section can be completed with the words of L.M. Shipitsyna (2002), who believes that the program of transition from childhood to adulthood for persons with mental retardation should include: socialization (personal adaptation and integration into society, learning to communicate, interpersonal interaction, organization leisure); vocational training (training for work in the service sector); ensuring equal living opportunities (development of self-esteem and self-understanding, expression of oneself outside the usual home and school conditions, ability to function independently).
Is it possible to study with a child at home?
Parents who are raising children with insufficient cognitive functions quite often do not want to isolate their child in boarding schools or are afraid of various troubles when attending group classes. Therefore, the question of how to organize correctional classes at home is quite relevant. The availability of various methods, a variety of educational toys, computer programs and visual aids allows specialists to teach such children at home.
But parents should rely not only on a specialist. They should also take an active part in the development of the child's mental abilities.
Exercises and activities can be built in the form of a game, thanks to which new educational material will be easily and naturally mastered, as well as important elements of communication with other members of society. Working with hands with various toys, creating crafts, applications, drawings, etc. will allow you to develop not only fine motor skills, build associative connections, but also show your own personality traits.
Forecast of correctional classes
For students with mild mental retardation, with proper and constant studies, the prognosis is favorable. A large number of these children study in regular secondary schools, on an equal basis with their peers. Some of them achieve good results even when studying at universities.
Unfortunately, a severe form of mental retardation, especially against the background of congenital hereditary syndromes or abnormalities of brain development, is very difficult to effectively correct. The effect will be noticeable after a long period of time.
Methodological recommendations for parents and educators of special children: special literature
Grief, of course, in a family where the baby grows up not entirely healthy. But mental retardation is not a disease, it is simply a malfunction in the brain program, which leads to low intellectual performance. Usually this is either a congenital defect or acquired at an early age as a result of an illness with subsequent brain damage.
Such children need to be developed especially “carefully,” so to speak. Correctional programs for kindergartens and parents can be found without problems today.
Personally, I recommend several wonderful, in my opinion, manuals from my favorite online store “UchMag”.
I'll start with intrigue! "UchMag" offers a promotion: top up your account in the store + participate in the offline seminar "Game correction of mental retardation."
The seminar is dedicated to the issues of art therapy, that is, how to use art for the comprehensive development of special children.
Further.
Manual “Diagnostics and correction of the cognitive sphere of younger preschool children with developmental disabilities.” This work gives us a method for identifying deviations in children and materials for developing individual lessons with a child lagging behind in intellectual development.
I can’t miss the benefit program “Sunshine” - these are 15 thematic lessons for special children, but they can well be used in daily work in the average kindergarten group. The authors suggest correcting defects in the intellectual development of children through play, and this is correct, because we know that children most successfully comprehend life through play, as they say.
An interesting book: “Psychological correction in conditions of inclusive education.” This is a manual for teachers, speech pathologists, psychologists and parents. In a nutshell, inclusive education is when all children, regardless of intellectual and physical development, are raised and educated together. In this manual we find the author’s methods of psychological correction of the development of preschool children.
