Mental retardation (MDP) is not considered a gross violation. Children with ZPR develop more slowly than their peers, they are inattentive and poorly perceive new material, have low cognitive activity. Pathology is manifested in physical and mental slowness, poor memory, low communication skills. Given these features, one thing is clear - a child with ZPR cannot meet standard general educational requirements. Moreover, almost all forms of delay are compensated as the child grows up, so the diagnosis allows you to study in ordinary secondary schools (according to the program of correctional classes for children with ZPR).
Mental retardation in children
ZPR is manifested in several versions, each of which has its own characteristics, prognosis and dynamics. With a delay of constitutional origin, the delay is determined by heredity, that is, the child repeats the development of the father or mother. With this diagnosis, a seven-year-old child is usually at the level of 4-5 years. Such students are characterized by a favorable prognosis subject to pedagogical impact. The delay is compensated by 10-12 years.
ZPR of somatogenic origin is caused by long-term chronic diseases, neuropsychic weakness of the brain, etc. Children are born in healthy families, and the delay appears due to diseases transferred in early childhood (chronic infections, allergies). Such students have pronounced symptoms in the form of decreased performance, headache, fatigue, poor memory, and attention is held for a very short time. With the intellect preserved, the emotional sphere is notable for immaturity.
Psychogenic delay is characteristic of children with normal physical development and health. The lag in learning and development is associated with flaws in education, adverse conditions that violate the normal development of the personality of the child. Often such students grow up in disadvantaged families, suffer from cruelty on the part of their parents or from hyper-custody. This leads to mental instability, lack of initiative, lag in intellectual development.
The delay in cerebral-organic origin is caused by persistent local destruction of the brain structures due to diseases of the mother during pregnancy, oxygen starvation of the fetus, prematurity, intrauterine infection and so on. Mental operations in children of this group in terms of productivity are close to children with oligophrenia. Such students learn the knowledge fragmentarily, there is immaturity of the emotional sphere. Children with ZPR of cerebral-organic origin need the comprehensive help of a psychologist, defectologist and physician.
Learning difficulties for special children
Parents may notice a delay in mental development even before school age. Typically, such children begin to walk later, pronounce the first words later, are not very active in the cognitive process and poorly establish contact with peers. Most adults attribute these characteristics to the individual pace of development of the child and character traits. All children really develop in different ways, so small deviations from age norms should not cause concern. Teaching such children as part of the general educational process will fully manifest existing mental problems.
By the age of 6-7 years, children are already attentive and focused, able to manage mental operations and rely on previous experience in the learning process, use abstract logical thinking. For students with an immature psyche, the general education system will be too complex. Usually the child with ZPR experiences the greatest difficulties with mastering his native and foreign languages, and mathematics. It is impossible to master writing without a sufficiently developed spoken language, and for understanding mathematics a child must know such concepts as comparison, form, quantity, size.
Teaching children with developmental delays
In the process of training wards with ZPR (correctional work program for children takes these features fully into account), it is necessary to develop cognitive activity, adjust emotional and personal qualities, promote the child’s social adaptation, and increase the general level of intellectual development. This should be taken into account by parents and other adults who introduce the child to the outside world, some basic concepts, teach at home and help with homework.
Many comprehensive schools have correctional classes, the program of which provides for the successful education of children with such disorders. Typically, the number of students in such groups does not exceed ten to twelve people. This creates comfortable conditions for children with mental retardation, who poorly establish contact with peers and do not have time in the classroom. A small class size allows teachers to pay attention to each student.
Special kids at regular school
At present, the program of correctional work for children with ZPR of varying severity is being implemented in eight types of special schools. In order to exclude diagnoses in the details of these schools, they are mentioned in the regulatory documents by serial number: I type - for deaf children, II type - for hearing impaired and deaf children, III type - for blind children, IV type - for visually impaired children, V type - for children with speech disorders, VI type - for children with disorders of the musculoskeletal system, VII type - for children with difficulties (mild ZPR), VIII type - for children with mental retardation.
Serious correctional work is being carried out in such institutions with children with disabilities, the task of which is to develop such students, enrich them with knowledge about the world around them, instill in them observation and attentiveness, experience of practical generalization, develop the ability to independently obtain knowledge and use it to solve various tasks. In correctional boarding schools, children can be around the clock, there are their own doctors, teachers are engaged not only in training, but also in the physical development of children.
Modern doctors, psychologists and defectologists with extensive practical experience recognize that the most promising direction is the social adaptation of children with ZPR. In special institutions, such students interact only with children with the same problem, but never learn to communicate with their ordinary peers. The approach to children with ZPR really needs a special one, but the attitude should be the same as for children with normal development.
So, a decision was made to allow the upbringing and education of children with disabilities in ordinary secondary schools. At the same time, the integration line should go through the correction at the early stages (in preschool education and elementary grades), and in parallel with the general education, the correction block should function. The corrective program for children with ZPR should provide for filling in the gaps of previous education, normalizing and improving cognitive activity, increasing the working capacity of students, overcoming the negative characteristics of the emotional sphere.
Stages of psychological and pedagogical support
The program of correctional and developmental classes for children with ZPR is formed during the sequential passage of several stages of psychological and pedagogical support. At the stage of preparatory work, diagnostics and the formation of a databank of children with disabilities are carried out, assistance is provided by medical specialists in identifying children with ZPR, comprehensive diagnosis of the child, and so on. We study the features of the individual development of the future student, health status, educational conditions, atmosphere in the family and so on. A teacher is involved in diagnostics with the help of a psychologist who maintains a map of observations. Features of the development of the future student are considered at an intra-school meeting. The child can be sent to PMPK, where he will be given an accurate diagnosis.
Further, parents are consulted about the further teaching methodology and prospects, expected results. A defectologist or educational psychologist conducts a conversation on further education and explains the need for corrective work with the child. Questioning is organized, open days, joint events. The psychologist also assists teachers working with children with disabilities (recommendations are provided, preparation of a package of documents necessary for working with special children). At this stage, an individual correctional program is compiled for a child with ZPR.
At the stage of correctional and developmental work, both in lessons and in extracurricular activities, individual psychological and pedagogical support of the child is provided taking into account individual characteristics. Groups are formed on the basis of observations of children and diagnostic results. For children with ZPR, a correction program (reviews of parents about teaching children with special needs in secondary schools confirm that this gives better results than if the child was in a special school), both individual and group.
To overcome problems in the development of students, consultations and discussions are held for teachers of correctional classes, and a stand of useful information from a psychologist is regularly updated. Intermediate and final diagnostics of student achievements are carried out to determine the further program of correctional developmental classes for children with ZPR. Diagnostics includes an analysis of the success of mastering the program in various subjects, as well as a study of the condition of children in school conditions (adaptation can last from 1.5-4 months to 1-1.5 years).
Correction System
Any correctional program for children with ZPR consists of four main blocks: the development and improvement of communication skills, the development of mental and speech activity, the development of mental activity, the development of spatial representations. Only an integrated approach to teaching special children will lead to success and equalization of the pace of development.
In the course of development and improvement of communication skills, it is necessary to teach the child to use the means of communication, form attitudes towards a friendly attitude towards peers and adults, successful interaction, achieve positive relationships with others (the child must be able to correctly express his opinion and attitude to the interlocutor, listen to his comrades, not interrupt senior), to form a positive image of their own "I". The development of speech and mental activity involves the expansion of vocabulary, the acquisition of knowledge about the world that can help improve social skills, the formation of developed monologic and dialogical speech (the ability to express one’s thoughts, observing the rules of communication), the formation of basic mental operations (comparison, analysis, generalization )
The child must learn to work according to the model and instructions, to regulate his behavior in educational and life situations. The skills of control over their activities are instilled, mastery of the actions of control and evaluation, and so on, is provided. The development of spatial representations involves the mastery of spatial orientation (indoors and in notebooks), the assimilation of basic educational concepts, the formation of the ability to distinguish geometric shapes, manipulate images, making mental transformations: disintegration into parts, rotation, connecting parts into a single whole, and so on.
Programming Guidelines
Option 7.1 of the correctional work program for children with ZPR provides that the work will be conducted with children who are close to the age norm in terms of psychophysical development, but encounter difficulties in voluntary self-regulation in the educational process. Such children require a special approach, they absorb material more slowly and achieve longer results, but by the time they move to the middle link they usually align in development with their peers.
The high efficiency of the implementation of the defectologist's correctional program for children with ZPR is ensured by the gradual complication of tasks and conducting classes with material that is close to the main educational program. It should be borne in mind that teaching children with disabilities requires the use of game methods, work methods, including an element of competition. A good welcome is the introduction of a system of rewards and fines. It promotes organization.
It is necessary to alternate sedentary and mobile methods of work, more often carry out physical education minutes, alternate oral and written work. This will give children the opportunity to distribute energy, and also helps relieve fatigue, increase concentration and performance. It is important to use simple exercises to check attention (questions like: “Whoever heard the assignment - show the thumb”).
The lesson outline involves an introduction, the main content of the lesson and the final stage. At the introduction stage, a greeting is obligatory, which sets up the children to successfully interact with the teacher, discusses the news (children can discuss the difficulties that arose during homework, the results obtained, evaluate their mood verbally or in points, recall the contents of the previous lesson, and so on), communicative game (held to increase the energy resource and the formation of a positive attitude).
The main stage is aimed at the formation and development of the main list of functions that are necessary in the development of educational material. Usually, tasks aimed at the development of spatial representations are first offered, then speech and thinking are developed, and homework is given. At the final stage, a relaxation exercise and a communicative game are carried out, which contributes to the relaxation of children and forms a positive attitude towards the lesson as a whole. Features of the correctional-developmental program for children with ZPR consist precisely in a sequential transition and the allocation of additional time for the correction of mental skills and memorization of material.
Program Results for Children Five to Seven Years
As a result of the implementation of the program of correctional work for children with impairment problems (parental reviews confirm that special children with the help of a qualified teacher and psychologist develop practically in accordance with the target guidelines), it is envisaged that the student will achieve certain successes in the field of speech development, artistic, social and communicative, cognitive, physical.
Planned Program Implementation Successes
Planned achievements in speech development are as follows:
- understanding the meaning of individual sentences and connected speech;
- understanding of various forms of the word;
- learning new words;
- understanding of phrases, constructions with prepositions, diminutive suffixes, differentiation of the plural and singular;
- proper nouns with diminutive suffixes;
- the correct pronunciation of sounds;
- the use of the main types of speech, rhythm and pace, normal pauses.
In the framework of socio-communicative development, the following results are expected from following the correctional program for children with ZPR:
- manifestation of independence in the game and communication;
- selection of classes, participants in group activities, sustainable interaction with children;
- participation in a collective lesson;
- the ability to accurately convey information to the interlocutor;
- the ability to collaborate in the game, to regulate their own behavior;
- use of knowledge gained in the course of educational activities;
- the desire for independence and the manifestation of a certain independence from the adult.
Expected results of cognitive development:
- the ability to generalize objects and concepts into groups;
- the presence of ideas about the size, quantity, form, the ability to express them in speech;
- the ability to name objects and their parts from pictures;
- ability to show named actions in pictures;
- the use of verbal support, activity planning or report in the process of activity;
- account ownership within ten;
- the ability to construct from different materials (with the help of an adult);
- the ability to determine the seasons and parts of the day;
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- knowledge of the rules of outdoor games, games with elements of sports;
- mastery of the basic rules in the formation of good habits, physical activity, nutrition;
- maintaining a given pace when walking and so on.
Expected results are presented for students five to seven years old. Corrective developmental program for children with ZPR (January 24, 2017 there was news that children with this diagnosis will no longer be sent to special institutions) younger children have different tasks, implemented not in secondary schools, but in correctional groups of preschool educational institutions or at home .
What parents need to know
Parents of children with a delay should understand that this is not a gross violation, it’s just that the child is a little more difficult to learn new material, he needs more time and attention. Requirements for the student should be reasonable, in no case should one inflate his capabilities to please his desires. It is necessary to accept the abilities and level of development of the child, to agree with this, understanding that quick results are possible only due to a deterioration in the state of health and disturbance of the emotional balance. In order for a child to catch up with peers, one needs to show patience, attentiveness, love, endurance and confidence. Perhaps a student with ZPR is unusually talented in another area. What creates a situation of success for him (creativity, music, dancing, sports, painting) is support and development.