Mental retardation (MDP) of constitutional origin: causes, diagnosis, correction

Awareness in frequently occurring and widespread topics in a particular area can save a person’s fate. A striking example is the awareness of pathologies that are often found in childhood. You should be especially careful and attentive with them, because the knowledge of how to recognize developmental delays and mental infantilism in children in time makes it possible to correct deviations in time.

There are many examples of fairly rapid alignment of the pace of development of children with delays due to the timely intervention of parents and specialists. Due to lengthy experiments and studies on this topic, it was concluded that the group of children with mental disorders is heterogeneous in the nature of the origin of the disease. Due to the characteristics of the origin and their predominant manifestation, several types of ZPR are distinguished.

Features of mental development

What is mental retardation? These are reversible, that is, correctable disorders of the development of the central nervous system in children aged 4-6 years. They are expressed in the slow development of intellectual and emotional-volitional personal qualities. The lack of correction of ZPR can pose a danger to the development of a growing personality, since these violations are characterized by difficulties in learning and the formation of healthy emotions, worldview and adequate social perception of the environment. That is why it is so important to identify problems in this area on time and consult a doctor - first, a pediatrician. Diagnosis of ZPR is carried out exclusively collectively, by a special commission composed of medical specialists, educators and psychologists. During the examination, the child is checked comprehensively, after which a general conclusion is established. Based on it, if necessary, the necessary treatment is prescribed or, otherwise, correction of ZPR.

Today, the number of children with mental retardation is about 15% of the total child population. This conclusion is most often established for children from 4 to 5 years. By this age, the emerging personality should show some learning abilities and a desire to make more mature, age-appropriate decisions. A striking example of a healthy psyche is the desire for independent behavior of a 4-year-old child in autonomous situations and the desire to act independently, knowing the world around him. Since problems of children with mental development characteristics characterize the child's personality as less mobile, with mental ageism that is not appropriate for age, amenable to for training, doctors recommend a specially designed training program. Before starting treatment, it is necessary to make sure that the child has a slower rate of development. Unlike mental retardation, mental retardation affects a wide range of central nervous system functions, but each of them is reduced in a light form. Initially, such deviations are very difficult to distinguish, therefore, to prevent the aggravation of possible developmental delays, it is better to consult a doctor.

ZPR diagnostics

According to statistics, 1 out of 4 children is prone to the development of mental retardation; therefore, monitoring the development of the central nervous system in children under the age of 6 is very important.

• Information is collected on early childhood illnesses.
• A full analysis of the child’s living conditions and hereditary information is carried out.
• Neuropsychological testing is necessarily introduced, taking into account the analysis of the independence and social adaptation of the child.
• Diagnosed speech mobility.
• Particular attention is paid to the conversation with the patient in order to identify the features of the intellectual process and emotional-volitional characteristics.

Classification

So, mental retardation (MDP) is divided into several types. According to the classification of ZPR proposed by K. S. Lebedinskaya, there are 4 main clinical types of delay.

• ZPR of somatogenic origin. The same signs of mental retardation: the predominance of gambling interests, the lack of attention and memory are caused by long-term illnesses at an early age that were somatic in nature. Examples: diseases of the cardiovascular system and kidneys, respiratory tract, including bronchial asthma. A certain kind of pressure on the maturation of the central nervous system is a long-term treatment of somatic diseases in the hospital, which also adds a limited effect on the senses (sensory deprivation).
• ZPR of constitutional origin. A case due to arbitrary delayed maturation of the central nervous system (CNS) as a result of exposure to hereditary factors. Children are not infantile by age, they do not behave according to their age, but seem to remain at the previous stage of development of younger children. The area of ​​interest of children with such deviations is more playful than cognitive or educational. An important role here is played not only by the desire to learn, but also the inability to remember large amounts of information and focus on one object, in the case of school-age children.
• ZPR psychogenic genesis. The causes of ZPR of this type are lack of attention or hyperprotection, as well as child abuse. They can cause certain delays in the development of psychogenic origin. Hyperopec causes such symptoms of slow development: lack of will, psychological weakness, lack of understanding of one’s own desires, lack of initiative, self-centeredness. Lack of attention makes children mentally unstable and painfully negative towards others, infantilely impulsive. Abuse forms unforeseen symptoms of mental retardation.
• ZPR of cerebral organic origin. According to studies of the classification of ZPR, this type of delayed development is the most common variant of the manifestation of the disease. It manifests itself in the primary non-gross organic lesion of the brain. Deviations and ZPR in children are expressed in the form of symptoms such as a lack of interest in the outside world, insufficient brightness of emotions and imagination, a high level of suggestibility, etc.

More on constitutional ZPR

With ZPR of constitutional origin, all pathologies are determined by hereditary factors. Children with this type of delay are characterized by immaturity regarding their age both physically and mentally. That is why this kind of deviation is called harmonic mental infantilism.

Children with delays and deviations in the development of the psyche, involved in the general educational process, attract attention from the first day at school, immediately acquiring the status of failure in all subjects. The only thing that is well given to children with ZPR of constitutional origin is communication with others and peers, due to a cheerful and kind disposition.

Mental retardation is a violation of its pace relative to the normal period of development of the child. The features of the lag of children with ZPR from their peers are heterogeneous. These are mainly mental and emotional characteristics, sometimes manifested in the physical development of children. The general educational program is not suitable for children with such mental features. Their training among fast-growing peers will reduce the effectiveness and pace of perception of information of the entire class, in addition to violating discipline. After this conclusion, doctors advise the appointment of specialized schools for children with mental retardation.

Harmonic infantilism is not a definitive diagnosis. With the right approach to correction, the child very quickly reaches the level of peers. The correct organization of the educational process for such children is the basis of successful correction. For example, outdoor games are organized for children with disabilities.

What could be the reason

The basis of deviations in the child’s psyche is biological and socio-psychological factors and shortcomings, which lead to a decrease in the rate of development of intelligence and the emotional background of the child’s psyche.

The causes of ZPR of constitutional origin may be:

1. Biological factors. This group includes minor local injuries and injuries of the central nervous system, as well as their consequences. They cause a further partial slowdown in the mental development of the child. Similar factors are manifested in a problematic pregnancy and some of the complications that may accompany pregnancy: rhesus conflicts, some types of intrauterine infections, birth injuries, and many others.
2. Social or environmental factors. They cause delays and malfunctions in the development of the psyche under the influence of hyper-care or lack of attention, abuse or isolation of the child from the environment and communication with peers.
3. Secondary factors. Occur in early childhood diseases, difficult for a fragile body. For example, impaired hearing or vision with damage to the relevant organs in diseases.
4. Metabolic factors. Changes in mental metabolism and increased need for certain vitamins and minerals.

Features of children with ZPR

Consider what distinguishes a child with such a pathology. The difference between mental retardation and mental retardation is that ZPR is distinguished by reversibility and the possibility of correction. Intellectual disorders in children with mental retardation are mild, but affect all intellectual processes: perception, attention, memory, thinking, speech. This feature requires an individual and careful approach, since the psyche of children with ZPR is particularly unstable and fragile.

Peculiarities of the psyche of children with developmental delays boil down to such signs:

1. Differences in response to the environment. Animation of facial expressions, vivid gestures, sudden movements. Learning preferences are exclusively in a playful way.
2. Features in perception and learning. Reluctance to learn through general education programs: compulsory volumes of educational material for reading, writing and drafting training.
3. Preference of the game part to other methods of obtaining information. Tirelessness and creativity in games, distraction and lack of attention in learning.
4. From the side of the emotional-volitional component of the psyche. Pronounced emotional instability. Against the background of high fatigue, nervous mood swings and tantrums occur when encountering unfamiliar or unpleasant situations for the child.
5. Love to fantasize. This is a means of psychological balance. The crowding out of unpleasant situations and information by replacing them with non-existent events or people.

A feature of mental retardation is that compensation and correction of all types of disorders is possible in the early stages of their detection and only in conditions of special training and education. Game inclinations of perception of the world are taken into account when involving children with disabilities in educational and developmental activities.

Specialists develop composite programs with outdoor games for children with mental retardation in combination with educational dosage information from the general program. This style of training is necessary for the compensatory restoration of missed stages of development, corresponding to the age and the required level of psyche, intelligence and development of the central nervous system.

Prevention

It is not always possible to prevent all factors affecting a child’s developmental delay compared to generally accepted age norms. However, there are a number of methods, hygiene and preventative means.

The list of the main prevention methods includes pregnancy planning, the prevention of any infectious and somatic diseases in both the mother and the child at an early age, the avoidance of mechanical, chemical and other negative effects on the fetus, as well as the provision of favorable conditions for the upbringing and development of the child.

Treatment

Harmonic infantilism or a lag in mental development is corrected quite successfully if the child with ZPR is placed in a well-organized developmental-learning environment.

The dynamics of a child’s development is determined by the significance of violations and pathologies, the level of intelligence, potential and the level of child’s performance. Much attention should be paid to the time - the sooner the diagnosis of ZPR is established, the faster it will be possible to begin the correction, without allowing the situation to worsen.

One of the key problems in the construction and selection of corrective programs is due to the variety of types of ZPR and their manifestations. You need to know that every child with harmonic infantilism has a number of features, including insufficient development of the emotional-volitional sphere and lack of cognitive activity.

Harmonic infantilism is quite successfully amenable to the condition of a properly organized developmental environment.

The dynamics of a child’s development depends on the depth of violations, the level of intelligence, the characteristics of mental performance and early correction. The time to start corrective development work is of paramount importance. The sooner a delay is identified and corrective activity is started, the more chances a child has to approach the requirements of the norm in their development.

What corrective programs include

Individual correction programs take into account many features of the child and the degree of development of intelligence and potential performance, as well as features of the formation of the structure of mental activity, the development of sensorimotor function and much more.

1. Working with children with mental retardation requires a common, multilateral approach. The treatment and correction of such abnormalities includes the participation of pediatric doctors in various fields. The complex of examinations and observations includes the work of children's neurologists, psychologists, psychiatrists and speech therapists. Defectologists and general practitioners are also included in the work. Such a correction is recommended for a long time and from preschool age.
2. For children with established delays in mental development, it is recommended to attend specialized schools and groups or classes in preschool educational institutions.
3. The main features of children with ZPR are the dosage of the educational material and its playful type of teaching. All material is divided into small information elements with emphasis on visibility, a frequent change of activity and repeated repetition.
4. Particular attention is paid to the development of programs to improve memory, thinking and attention. Due to the numerous techniques of art therapy and game elements, an improvement in the emotional and sensory sphere of activity is achieved.
5. A very important element of the work is constant monitoring by defectologists, psychologists and psychiatrists.
6. This type of mild disorders is restored due to drug therapy in accordance with the identified violations. An important addition: massages, physiotherapy exercises (LFK), physiotherapy and hydrotherapy.

Important!

Adults need to remember that the psyche of a child is very mobile and soft. This makes it possible to correct any delays and mild pathologies. Adapted educational programs for children with ZPR are specially designed for such deviations and are able to normalize the psyche and emotional-volitional qualities of the child to the appropriate age category. Almost all deviations from the norm can be corrected. However, work with delays in the mental development of the child should be carried out taking into account the individual characteristics of the child and on time.

Parents and teachers of specialized educational institutions should be aware that there are no general programs for correcting the peculiarities of the development of the child's psyche, even in schools for children with mental retardation.

Similar corrective educational and developmental programs are formed individually for each child. Even for working in specialized classes for children with ZPR, it is recommended that the program be processed for each child.The development and correction of the program is carried out jointly with specialists from psychological and psychiatric centers. Be attentive to your children, monitor their health and turn to pediatric specialists in time.