Options for an adapted educational program for children with mental retardation
Many parents whose children experience serious learning difficulties are recommended to undergo a psychological, medical and pedagogical commission. If a child is unable to cope with his studies and needs special learning conditions, then it is worth considering taking the PMPK. If a child has been diagnosed with mental retardation, then parents should know that almost all children with mental retardation experience, to one degree or another, severe difficulties in mastering educational programs. Such difficulties are caused by insufficient development of cognitive abilities, specific disorders of psychological development (school skills, speech, etc.), disturbances in the organization of activities and/or behavior. The category of students with mental retardation (MDD) is the most numerous among children with disabilities and a heterogeneous group of schoolchildren. Common to all students with mental retardation are, to varying degrees, pronounced deficiencies in the formation of higher mental functions, a slow pace or uneven development of cognitive activity, and difficulties in voluntary self-regulation. Quite often, students experience impairments in speech and fine manual motor skills, visual perception and spatial orientation, mental performance and the emotional sphere.
At the conclusion of the PMPK, parents receive a code for the Adapted Program under which the child will study at school. The child will also be given the status of a child with disabilities. Children with disabilities are admitted to study in an adapted basic general education program only with the consent of their parents (legal representatives) and on the basis of recommendations of the psychological, medical and pedagogical commission.
An adapted educational program is an educational program adapted for training persons with disabilities, taking into account the characteristics of their psychophysical development, individual capabilities and, if necessary, providing correction of developmental disorders and social adaptation of these persons (clause 28 of article 2 of the Federal Law of December 29, 2012 No. 273-FZ “On Education in the Russian Federation” (hereinafter referred to as the Law).The adapted educational program for children with mental retardation is encrypted as 7.1 or 7.2.
The child can continue studying at school according to an adapted program (AOOP NOO) (Part 2 of Article 79 of the Law). The school creates special conditions for the education of children with disabilities.
The adapted program is independently developed and approved by the organization in accordance with the federal state educational standard for students with disabilities and taking into account the approximate adapted program of primary education for students with disabilities with the involvement of collegial governing bodies (council of the educational organization, board of trustees, management council, etc.).
Below are documents that give an idea of the organization of education for children with mental retardation and children with disabilities.
- Federal Law of December 29, 2012 No. 273-FZ of December 29, 2012 “On Education in the Russian Federation.”
- Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation dated December 19, 2014 No. 1598 “On approval of the Federal State Educational Standard for Primary General Education of Students with Disabilities.”
- An approximate adapted basic general education program for primary general education for students with mental retardation was approved by the decision of the federal educational and methodological association for general education (protocol dated December 22, 2015 No. 4/15).
- Letter of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation dated May 23, 2016 No. VK-1074/07 “On improving the activities of psychological, medical and pedagogical commissions.”
- Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation dated December 19, 2014 No. 1598 “On approval of the federal state educational standard for primary general education of students with disabilities.”
In accordance with the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard for Education of Students with Disabilities, the school can create two options for an adapted program for students with disabilities - options 7.1 and 7.2. Each version of the adapted program for students with mental retardation contains different requirements for the structure, results of development and conditions for its implementation, ensuring the satisfaction of both general and special educational needs of different groups or individual students with mental retardation, obtaining education regardless of the severity of mental retardation, place of residence student and type of organization.
Based on the Federal State Educational Standard of Education for students with disabilities, an adapted program for students with mental retardation is being created, for which, if necessary, several curricula can be created, including individual curricula that take into account the educational needs of groups or individual students with developmental delays.
If the child also has a disability, the program is supplemented by an individual rehabilitation program for the disabled person in terms of creating special conditions for receiving education.
The determination of one of the options for an adapted program for students with mental retardation is carried out on the basis of the recommendations of the psychological, medical and pedagogical commission (hereinafter referred to as PMPC), formulated based on the results of a comprehensive psychological, medical and pedagogical examination.
Features of training according to option 7.1 of the adapted basic educational program of primary general education.
Training under option 1 of the Federal State Educational Standard of NEO OVZ can be organized according to the main educational program, if necessary - in accordance with the individual curriculum. Training according to an individual curriculum within the framework of mastered general education programs is carried out in the manner established by local regulations of the educational organization. Education according to the first option indicates that the child is studying according to a curriculum common to children without disabilities . His special educational needs are met through extracurricular activities. The essence of the needs and, accordingly, the necessary support is indicated in the corresponding appendix of the federal standard for children with disabilities and the adapted educational program. The specific content of the support is established by the council of the educational organization. The psychological, medical and pedagogical commission designates only the main areas of work with the child.
Option 7.1. assumes that a student with mental retardation receives an education that is fully consistent in terms of final achievements at the time of completion of training with the education of students who do not have health limitations, during the same period of study (grades 1-4). Option 7.1 also provides that a student with mental retardation receives education while being among peers who do not have health limitations.
The basis for assessing a child’s progress in social (life) competence is the analysis of changes in his behavior in everyday life - at school and at home.
To fully assess the achievements of the planned results of students mastering the correctional work program, the opinion of parents (legal representatives) should be taken into account, since the presence of positive dynamics of students according to integrative indicators, indicating a weakening (absence of weakening) of the degree of influence of developmental disorders on the life activity of students, is manifested not only in educational -cognitive activities, but also everyday life.
In cases of persistent absence of positive dynamics in the results of mastering the correctional work program, the student, with the consent of the parents (legal representatives), must be sent for an extended psychological, medical and pedagogical examination to obtain the necessary information to make adjustments to the organization and content of the correctional work program.
The staff of specialists of an educational organization implementing option 7.1 of the AOEP NEO for students with mental retardation should include: a primary school teacher, a music teacher, an art teacher, a physical education teacher, a foreign language teacher, a teacher, a teacher-psychologist, a social teacher, a teacher-organizer, an additional teacher education, speech therapist. If necessary, participation in the work of a tutor or assistant may be provided.
The total size of the class in which children with mental retardation are studying, mastering option 7.1, should not exceed 25 students, the number of students with mental retardation in the class should not exceed four, the rest of the students - without health restrictions.
Special conditions for passing the state final certification are assumed for all categories of children studying under options 1 and 2 of the Federal State Educational Standard of NOO OVZ.
Features of training according to option 7.2 of the adapted basic educational program of primary general education.
Option 7.2 of the adapted program is necessary for students with mental retardation, who are characterized by a level of development slightly below the age norm; the lag can manifest itself generally or locally in individual functions (slow pace or uneven development of cognitive activity). There are disturbances in attention, memory, perception and other cognitive processes, mental performance and purposefulness of activity, which to one degree or another complicate the assimilation of school norms and school adaptation in general. Arbitrariness, self-control, self-regulation in behavior and activity, as a rule, are not sufficiently formed. Learning ability is satisfactory, but often selective and unstable, depending on the level of complexity and subjective attractiveness of the activity, as well as on the current emotional state. Non-adaptive behavior is possible, associated both with a lack of understanding of social norms and with a violation of emotional regulation and hyperactivity.
This option assumes that a student with mental retardation receives an education comparable in terms of final achievements at the time of completion of training with the education of students who do not have health limitations during extended periods of study. The period for obtaining primary general education for students with mental retardation is extended, taking into account the psychophysiological capabilities and individual developmental characteristics of this category of students and amounts to 5 years (with the mandatory introduction of the first additional class). During training in the 1st and 1st additional grades, it is advisable to encourage and stimulate the work of students in every possible way, using only qualitative assessment. At the same time, it is not fundamentally important how much a student with mental retardation progresses in mastering a particular academic subject. At this stage of learning, the central result is the emergence of significant prerequisites for educational activity, one of which is the ability to carry it out not only under the direct and immediate guidance and control of the teacher, but also with a certain degree of independence in interaction with the teacher and classmates. The duration of the academic year at the first stage of general education is 34 weeks, in the 1st and 1st additional classes - 33 weeks. The duration of vacations during the academic year is at least 30 calendar days, in the summer - at least 8 weeks. For students in 1st and 1st additional grades, additional weekly holidays are established throughout the year. The duration of training sessions is 40 minutes.
Students with mental retardation in this program should be provided with a corrective focus of the entire educational process:
- extended training periods;
- conducting individual and group correctional classes;
- special structuring of training content based on increased attention to the formation of social competence.
Option 7.2 of the adapted program for students with mental retardation can be implemented in different forms: both together with other students, and in separate classes, groups or in individual organizations carrying out educational activities.
Mastering the AOOP NEO (option 7.2) ensures that students with mental retardation achieve three types of results: personal, meta-subject and subject-specific .
It is advisable to begin assessing this group of results from the 2nd grade, i.e., during the period when students have already developed some initial skills in reading, writing and counting. In addition, the learning activity itself will be familiar to students, and they will be able to organize it under the guidance of the teacher. The results of students' mastery of an adapted program for children with developmental delays are assessed as final at the time of completion of primary general education.
It should be taken into account that throughout the entire school education, it remains possible for the student to transfer from one version of the program to another. The inability of a student with a mental retardation to fully master a separate subject within the framework of an adapted program should not serve as an obstacle to choosing or continuing to master option 7.2, since this category of students may have a specific disorder of reading, writing, arithmetic skills (dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia), as well as pronounced impairments of attention and performance, disturbances in the motor sphere, preventing the development of the program in full. Training according to the second option indicates that the level of complexity of the educational program should be lower, and courses in the correctional and developmental field are included in the curriculum.
An important thing when studying according to this version of the program is that the study of the academic subject “Foreign Language” begins in the 3rd grade. 1 hour per week is allocated for its study.
Hours in the correctional and developmental field are represented by group and individual correctional and developmental classes (speech therapy and psychocorrectional), aimed at correcting deficiencies in the psychophysical development of students and filling gaps in knowledge.
In accordance with the federal state educational standard for students with disabilities, at least 5 hours per week per student are allocated for correctional work, depending on their needs.
The period of re-examination at the PMPK depends on the age of the child at the time of the initial examination and the nature of the disorder he or she has. Changes in the version of the adapted program are highly likely for those who received a recommendation for training under option 1 for all AOEP developed in accordance with the Federal State Educational Standard for non-specialized educational institutions with disabilities. In these cases, it is advisable to use the flexible wording “If there are persistent difficulties in mastering the recommended version of the AOEP - during the next academic year.” For students with mental retardation, whose PMPC allows for the possibility of not mastering the AOEP according to option 2, the wording should be used: “In case of persistent poor performance in several subjects and accompanying difficulties in psychosocial adaptation - no later than a year after the start of mastering the AOEP” For those who have received a recommendation to study according to option 2 of the Federal State Educational Standard of Education for students with disabilities, the period of re-examination must coincide with the end of training in primary school, however, if necessary, additional terms of examination for PMPK can be assigned.
It seems that the administration of the school where a child with disabilities is studying should conduct a detailed explanatory conversation with parents regarding the features of the organization of the educational process, correctional and developmental work, and the features of the child’s curriculum. The implementation of inclusive education should not violate the rights of other students to receive general education.
- Author - Safiulina Nuria Romanovna
- 01.03.2019
- All consultations by the author
Institutions for younger students
For the education and correction of children with mental retardation, kindergartens have been created, which cover several school classes. The goal of such an institution is for the student to stay longer in the circle of familiar teachers with whom contact has already been established. Additional time is allocated in order to have time to overcome health-related difficulties and consolidate basic skills. In parallel with this work, the school curriculum is being mastered, so the student will be fully prepared when the parents decide to transfer him to the second or third grade. The transition is made without sudden stress, which has a positive effect on the emotional background.
Article on the topic: Preparing children with mental retardation for school. School choice
conclusions
Every citizen of Russia has the right to receive an education, and any diagnosis is not a problem. There are several options for places of study, depending on the type of school. Home schooling is also available, but is contraindicated in cases where children are able to attend school. This is because homeschooling entails social isolation. At the same time, working with teachers and contact with other children can help get rid of the symptoms of mental retardation as quickly as possible.
