What is mental retardation?
ZPR belongs to the category of mild deviations in mental development and occupies an intermediate place between normality and pathology. Children with mental retardation do not have such severe developmental disabilities as mental retardation, primary underdevelopment of speech, hearing, vision, or motor system. The main difficulties they experience are primarily related to social (including school) adaptation and learning.
The explanation for this is the slowdown in the rate of maturation of the psyche. It should also be noted that in each individual child, mental retardation may manifest itself differently and differ both in time and in the degree of manifestation. But, despite this, we can try to identify a range of developmental features, forms and methods of work that are characteristic of the majority of children with mental retardation.
Who are these children?
Experts' answers to the question of which children should be included in the group with mental retardation are very ambiguous. Conventionally, they can be divided into two camps. The first adhere to humanistic views, believing that the main causes of mental retardation are primarily social and pedagogical in nature (unfavorable family conditions, lack of communication and cultural development, difficult living conditions). Children with mental retardation are defined as maladapted, difficult to teach, and pedagogically neglected. Other authors associate developmental delays with mild organic brain lesions and include children with minimal brain dysfunction here.
At preschool age, children with mental retardation show a lag in the development of general and, especially, fine motor skills. The technique of movements and motor qualities (speed, dexterity, strength, accuracy, coordination) are mainly affected, and psychomotor shortcomings are revealed. Self-service skills and technical skills in artistic activities, modeling, appliqué, and design are poorly developed. Many children do not know how to hold a pencil or brush correctly, do not regulate the pressure, and have difficulty using scissors. There are no gross movement disorders in children with mental retardation, but the level of physical and motor development is lower than that of normally developing peers.
Such children have almost no speech - they use either a few babbling words or separate sound complexes. Some of them may be able to form a simple phrase, but the child's ability to actively use phrasal speech is significantly reduced.
In these children, manipulative actions with objects are combined with object actions. With the help of an adult, they actively master didactic toys, but the methods of performing correlative actions are imperfect. Children need a much larger number of trials and try-ons to solve a visual problem. Their general motor clumsiness and lack of fine motor skills cause undeveloped self-care skills - many find it difficult to use a spoon while eating, experience great difficulty in undressing and especially in dressing, and in object-play actions.
Such children are characterized by absent-mindedness; they are unable to maintain attention for a long enough time or quickly switch it when changing activities. They are characterized by increased distractibility, especially to verbal stimuli. Activities are not focused enough, children often act impulsively, are easily distracted, quickly get tired, and become exhausted. Manifestations of inertia may also be observed - in this case, the child has difficulty switching from one task to another.
Indicative research activities aimed at studying the properties and qualities of objects are hampered. A greater number of practical tests and fittings are required when solving visual and practical problems; children find it difficult to examine the subject. At the same time, children with mental retardation, unlike mentally retarded children, can practically correlate objects by color, shape, and size. The main problem is that their sensory experience is not generalized for a long time and is not consolidated in words; errors are noted when naming features of color, shape, and size. Thus, reference views are not generated in a timely manner. A child, naming primary colors, finds it difficult to name intermediate color shades. Does not use words denoting quantities
The memory of children with mental retardation is characterized by qualitative originality. First of all, children have limited memory capacity and reduced memorization strength. Characterized by inaccurate reproduction and rapid loss of information.
In terms of organizing correctional work with children, it is important to take into account the uniqueness of the formation of speech functions. The methodological approach involves the development of all forms of mediation - the use of real objects and substitute objects, visual models, as well as the development of verbal regulation. In this regard, it is important to teach children to accompany their actions with speech, to summarize - to give a verbal report, and at later stages of work - to draw up instructions for themselves and for others, that is, to teach planning actions.
At the level of play activity, children with mental retardation have reduced interest in games and toys, it is difficult to develop the idea of a game, the plots of games tend to stereotypes, and mainly affect everyday topics. Role behavior is characterized by impulsiveness, for example, a child is going to play “Hospital”, enthusiastically puts on a white coat, takes a suitcase with “tools” and goes... to the store, as he was attracted by the colorful attributes in the play corner and the actions of other children. The game is also unformed as a joint activity: children communicate little with each other in the game, play associations are unstable, conflicts often arise, children communicate little with each other, and collective play does not work out.
Corrective influences it is necessary to build them so that they correspond to the main lines of development in a given age period, based on the characteristics and achievements characteristic of a given age.
Firstly, correction should be aimed at correcting and further development, as well as compensation for those mental processes and neoplasms that began to take shape in the previous age period and which are the basis for development in the next age period.
Secondly, correctional and developmental work must create conditions for the effective formation of those mental functions that develop especially intensively in the current period of childhood.
Thirdly, correctional and developmental work should contribute to the formation of prerequisites for successful development at the next age stage.
Fourthly, correctional and developmental work should be aimed at harmonizing the child’s personal development at this age stage.
When building tactics for correctional and developmental work, it is no less important to take into account such a key phenomenon as the zone of proximal development (L.S. Vygotsky). This concept can be defined as the difference between the level of complexity of problems that a child can solve independently and that which he is able to achieve with the help of adults or in a peer group. Correctional and developmental work should be built taking into account sensitive periods of development of certain mental functions. It should also be borne in mind that in case of developmental disorders, sensitive periods may shift in time.
We can highlight the following most important areas of correctional and developmental work with children in the compensatory group:
Wellness direction. The full development of a child is possible only under the condition of physical well-being. This area also includes the tasks of streamlining a child’s life: creating normal living conditions (especially for children from socially disadvantaged families), introducing a rational daily routine, creating an optimal motor regimen, etc.
Correction and compensation of developmental disorders of higher mental functions using neuropsychological methods. The level of development of modern child neuropsychology makes it possible to achieve high results in the correction of cognitive activity, school skills (counting, writing, reading), behavioral disorders (goal orientation, control).
Development of sensory and motor areas. This direction is especially important when working with children who have sensory defects and disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Stimulation of sensory development is also very important in order to develop the creative abilities of children.
Development of cognitive activity. The system of psychological and pedagogical assistance to the full development, correction and compensation of developmental disorders of all mental processes (attention, memory, perception, thinking, speech) is the most developed and should be widely used in practice.
Development of the emotional sphere. Increasing emotional competence, which involves the ability to understand the emotions of another person, adequately express and control one’s emotions and feelings, is important for all categories of children.
Formation of types of activities characteristic of a particular age stage: play, productive types (drawing, design), educational, communication, preparation for work. Particular attention should be paid to special work on the formation of educational activities in children experiencing learning difficulties.
Several specific methods for working with children with mental retardation:
1. Children with mental retardation have a low degree of stability of attention, so it is necessary to specially organize and direct the attention of children. All exercises that develop all forms of attention are useful.
2. They need more trials to master the method of activity, so it is necessary to provide the child with the opportunity to act repeatedly in the same conditions.
3. The intellectual deficiency of these children is manifested in the fact that complex instructions are inaccessible to them. It is necessary to split the task into short segments and present it to the child in stages, formulating the task very clearly and specifically. For example, instead of the instruction “Make a story based on the picture,” it is advisable to say the following: “Look at this picture. Who is pictured here? What are they doing? What's happening to them? Tell".
4. A high degree of exhaustion in children with mental retardation can take the form of both fatigue and excessive excitement. Therefore, it is undesirable to force the child to continue activities after the onset of fatigue. However, many children with mental retardation tend to manipulate adults, using their own fatigue as an excuse to avoid situations that require them to behave voluntarily,
5. To prevent fatigue from becoming entrenched in the child as a negative result of communication with the teacher, a “farewell” ceremony is required, demonstrating an important positive result of the work. On average, the duration of the work stage for one child should not exceed 10 minutes.
6. Any manifestation of sincere interest in the personality of such a child is especially highly valued by him, since it turns out to be one of the few sources of a sense of self-worth necessary for the formation of a positive perception of himself and others.
7. The main method of positively influencing mental retardation is working with the family of this child. Parents of these children suffer from increased emotional vulnerability, anxiety, and internal conflict. The first worries among parents regarding the development of children usually arise when the child goes to kindergarten or school, and when educators and teachers note that he does not master the educational material. But even then, some parents believe that with teaching work they can wait until the child, with age, independently learns to speak, play, and communicate with peers correctly. In such cases, specialists from the institution that the child attends need to explain to parents that timely assistance to a child with mental retardation will help avoid further violations and open up more opportunities for his development. Parents of children with mental retardation need to be taught how and what to teach their child at home.
It is necessary to constantly communicate with children, conduct classes, and follow the teacher’s recommendations. More time should be devoted to getting to know the world around you: going with the child to the store, to the zoo, to children's parties, talking more with him about his problems (even if his speech is slurred), looking at books, pictures with him, composing different stories, more often for the child talk about what you are doing, involve him in feasible work. It is also important to teach your child to play with toys and other children. The main thing is that parents should evaluate the capabilities of a child with mental retardation and his successes, notice progress (even if insignificant), and not think that, as he grows up, he will learn everything on his own. Only the joint work of teachers and families will benefit a child with mental retardation and lead to positive results.
8. Any support for children with mental retardation is a set of special classes and exercises aimed at increasing cognitive interest, the formation of voluntary forms of behavior, and the development of the psychological foundations of educational activities.
Each lesson is built according to a certain constant scheme: gymnastics, which is carried out with the aim of creating a good mood in children, in addition, helps to improve cerebral circulation, increases the energy and activity of the child,
The main part, which includes exercises and tasks aimed primarily at the development of one mental process (3-4 tasks), and 1-2 exercises aimed at other mental functions. The proposed exercises are varied in methods of execution and material (outdoor games, tasks with objects, toys, sports equipment).
The final part is the child’s productive activity: drawing, appliqué, paper design, etc.
9. Montessori pedagogy is the optimal choice for children with developmental disabilities, since this technique provides a unique opportunity for the child to work and develop according to his own internal laws. Waldorf pedagogy as a system is not very suitable for such children, since the personality of a child with mental retardation is easy to suppress, and the teacher in this system plays a dominant role. The method of N.A. Zaitsev still remains as the only optimal method of teaching literacy. Many children with mental retardation are hyperactive, inattentive, and “Cubes” is the only method today where these concepts are given in an accessible form, where “workarounds” for learning are invented, where all the preserved functions of the body are used.
- Games based on the LEGO construction set have a beneficial effect on the development of speech, facilitate the assimilation of a number of concepts, production of sounds, and harmonize the child’s relationship with the outside world.
- Playing with sand or sand therapy. Parapsychologists say that sand absorbs negative energy, interaction with it cleanses a person and stabilizes his emotional state.
In specially organized conditions of education and upbringing in children with mental retardation, positive dynamics in the acquisition of skills and abilities is unconditional, but they retain low learning ability.
But our task in the preschool world is to instill in such a child the ability to socially adapt. I think there's a lot to think about here. Is not it?
Bibliography:
1. S.G. Shevchenko “Preparation for school of children with mental retardation.”
3. T.R. Kislova “On the road to the ABC.” Methodological recommendations for educators, speech therapists, teachers and parents.
Preface.
The number of children who have developmental deviations already at preschool age is very significant. Accordingly, there is a high risk of school maladaptation and academic failure.
Of particular concern is the increase in the number of children with mental retardation (MDD).
Creating pedagogical conditions based on a personality-oriented approach, optimal for each student, involves the formation of an adaptive social and educational environment, including all the diversity of different types of educational institutions.
However, only since 1990 have preschool institutions for children with mental retardation been included in the education system. development of issues of organization and content of the correctional pedagogical process in the conditions of a preschool educational institution of a compensatory type is one of the priority areas of special education.
The administration and teachers have many questions regarding the organization of activities of groups for children with mental retardation, the content of the program of correctional and developmental education, methods of working with children, preparation of working documentation, etc.
The methodological recommendations presented in this manual are based on the interaction of science and practice, which increases the quality level of educational activities of compensatory preschool institutions. These methodological recommendations have been successfully tested and are used in the practical activities of compensatory preschool educational institutions in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Belgorod.
This work is intended to provide methodological assistance to teachers - defectologists, teachers - speech therapists, teachers - psychologists and educators working with preschool children with mental retardation and their parents.
Characteristic features of children with mental retardation.
Preschool childhood is the period of the most intensive formation of cognitive activity and personality as a whole. If the intellectual and emotional potential of a child does not receive proper development in preschool age, then subsequently it will not be possible to realize it fully. This is especially true for children with mental retardation.
So what is mental retardation? This is a special type of abnormal development, which is characterized by a slow pace of development of one or more mental functions, which, in most cases, are compensated under the influence of drug treatment, special correctional training and under the influence of the time factor.
From the perspective of an inexperienced observer, preschoolers with mental retardation are not so different from their peers. Parents often do not attach importance to the fact that their child began to walk independently a little later, act with objects, and that his speech development is delayed. Increased excitability, instability of attention, and rapid fatigue first manifest themselves at the behavioral level and only later on the completion of curriculum tasks.
By older preschool age, difficulties in mastering the kindergarten program become obvious: children are inactive in classes, do not remember material well, and are easily distracted. The level of development of cognitive activity and speech turns out to be lower compared to peers.
With the start of school, the clinical picture of disorders becomes more pronounced due to difficulties in mastering the school curriculum, and psychological problems become more profound and persistent.
The problem of studying and correcting mental retardation of preschoolers in our country is being dealt with by modern researchers and teachers: Lubovsky V.I., Lebedinsky V.V., Pevzner M.S., Vlasova T.A., Pevzner M.S., Lebedinskaya K.S. ., Zhukova N.S., Mastyukova E.M., Filicheva T.B., Vlasova T.A., Vygotsky L.S., Boryakova N.Yu., Ulienkova U.V., Sukhareva G.E., Mastyukova E.M. ,Markovskaya I.F. , Zabramnaya S.D. , Glukhov V.P., Shevchenko S.G., Levchenko I.Yu. and others .
Outstanding teachers and psychologists note that in children with mental retardation, in most cases, perception, attention, thinking, memory, and speech are impaired.
In children with mental retardation, attention is often impaired: voluntary attention does not form for a long time;
- attention is unstable, scattered, poorly concentrated and decreases with fatigue and physical exertion. Even positive strong emotions (holiday matinees, watching TV shows, etc.) reduce attention;
- small attention span;
- children with mental retardation cannot properly distribute attention (it is difficult to listen and write at the same time);
- there are difficulties in switching attention from one type of activity to another;
- often pay attention to minor details and get stuck on them.
Perception:
- the pace of perception is slower, it takes more time to complete the task;
- the volume of perception is narrowed;
- difficulties are observed in the perception of similar objects (circle and oval);
- there are problems with gnosis. Children have difficulty recognizing noisy and intersecting images, have difficulty assembling cut-out pictures, and make mistakes in “traversing labyrinths”;
- impaired perception of color (especially tint colors), size, shape, time, space;
- spatial perception is difficult, since inter-analyzer connections are not sufficiently formed;
- physiological hearing is preserved, but phonemic perception is impaired;
- stereognosis (recognition by touch) is difficult.
Memory:
- insufficient memorization strength. Short-term memory predominates over long-term memory, so constant reinforcement and repeated repetition are required;
- verbal memory is less developed, visual memory is better;
- the ability to remember logically suffers. Mechanical memory is better developed.
Thinking:
- insufficient formation of mental operations of analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization, etc.;
- verbal and logical thinking especially suffers. This type of thinking is normally formed in children by the age of seven, and in children with mental retardation much later. Children do not understand a picture with a hidden meaning, a riddle, a saying, a proverb;
- cannot establish cause-and-effect relationships without the help of a teacher;
- do not understand the hidden meaning of a riddle, a proverb...
Speech:
-Almost all children with mental retardation have some kind of speech impairment, sound pronunciation, phonemic hearing suffers, and grammatical structure is impaired. Coherent speech and the construction of a coherent statement suffer especially; the semantic aspect of speech is impaired.
That is why, along with a teacher-speech pathologist, the group for children with mental retardation includes a teacher-speech therapist.
It is obvious that traditional classes are not interesting for children in this category and are ineffective. There is a need to search for various ways and methods that contribute to a better assimilation of the necessary knowledge indicated by the training program.
The most successful and effective method in working with children with mental retardation, both in frontal correctional and developmental classes and in individual work, is didactic game. A didactic game is defined by the name itself - it is an educational game. It helps the child gain knowledge in an easy, accessible and relaxed manner. It is through didactic play, as the main method of correctional work, that the knowledge provided by the program and necessary in preparing children of this category for schooling occurs. Therefore, the author of the manual begins his methodological recommendations with the methodologically correct use of didactic games in correctional work with children with mental retardation.
1. It is recommended to use didactic games as widely as possible in frontal correctional and developmental classes, in individual lessons, as well as in various routine moments in a compensatory group for children with mental retardation.
2. Didactic games should be accessible and understandable to children and correspond to their age and psychological characteristics.
3. Each didactic game should have its own specific learning task, which corresponds to the topic of the lesson and the correctional stage.
4. When preparing for a didactic game, it is recommended to select goals that contribute not only to the acquisition of new knowledge, but also to the correction of the mental processes of a child with mental retardation.
5. When conducting a didactic game, it is necessary to use a variety of visuals, which must carry a semantic load and meet aesthetic requirements.
6. Knowing the characteristics of children with mental retardation, for a better perception of the material being studied using a didactic game, it is necessary to try to use several analyzers (auditory and visual, auditory and tactile...).
7. The correct balance between play and work of the preschooler must be maintained.
9. Game actions need to be taught. Only under this condition does the game acquire an educational character and become meaningful.
10. In the game, the principle of didactics should be combined with entertainment, jokes, and humor. Only the liveliness of the game mobilizes mental activity and makes it easier to complete the task.
11. A didactic game should activate children’s speech activity. Should contribute to the acquisition and accumulation of vocabulary and social experience of children.
1. When conducting any correctional and developmental lessons in mathematics, it is necessary to take into account the psycho-physical characteristics of children with mental retardation.
2. It is necessary to pay special attention and importance to the propaedeutic period.
3. Perform program tasks sequentially, using the principle of didactics: from simple to complex.
4. The slow pace of learning new material by children in this category involves conducting two or more classes on the same topic.
6. Teach children to verbally report on the actions performed.
7. Move on to the next topic only after the previous material has been mastered.
8. When conducting thematic classes (for example, based on a fairy tale), the teacher’s creative approach to the lesson scenario is necessary, i.e. The teacher must understand which fairy tale and how many lessons can be planned based on the same plot.
9. Use both traditional teaching methods (visual, verbal, practical, game...) and non-traditional, innovative approaches.
10. Use clarity wisely.
11. Use as many different analyzers as possible when performing counting operations.
12. Each lesson must perform corrective tasks.
13. It is advisable to make the most active use of didactic games and exercises in each lesson.
14. Use an individual and differentiated approach to children.
15. Treat every child kindly and respectfully.
1. All movements selected for conducting classes on phonetic rhythms should be considered as stimulation for the formation and consolidation of pronunciation skills.
2. The movements that are performed in class are not previously learned, but are performed by imitation.
3. The movements are repeated synchronously with the teacher several times (2 – 5 times).
4. Phonetic rhythms are always carried out standing, the distance from the teacher to the child is at least 2.5 meters, so that the child sees the entire teacher.
5. Exercises are carried out for 2 – 3 minutes.
6. The child must look the teacher in the face.
7. After each movement with tension, you need to lower your arms down and relax. The teacher conducting phonetic rhythms is recommended to teach children the elements of concentration and self-relaxation when performing certain exercises
8. After children learn to repeat movements correctly, the number of repetitions decreases.
9. A mandatory component of each lesson should be motor exercises that develop a sense of rhythm and tempo of pronunciation.
10. In phonetic rhythms, visual demonstration and repeated repetitions should be used, which stimulate the child to correct imitation.
11. During the lesson, children should clearly see the teacher and pronounce the speech material synchronously with the teacher.
12. If during the lesson some children do not succeed in certain elements of rhythm, then it is recommended to transfer work on these elements to individual lessons.
13. Classes on phonetic rhythms must be conducted by a teacher - a defectologist, who himself correctly and beautifully performs the movements of the body, arms, legs, and head.
14. The teacher’s speech should serve as a role model, be phonetically correctly formatted, and emotionally charged.
1. A teacher working in a compensatory group for children with mental retardation must take into account the psychophysical, speech characteristics and capabilities of children in this category.
2. When conducting any type of classes or games, the teacher must remember that it is necessary to solve not only the problems of the general education program, but also (first of all) to solve correctional problems.
3. The teacher should pay attention to the correction of existing deviations in mental and physical development, to enriching ideas about the world around them, as well as to the further development and improvement of children’s intact analyzers.
4. It is necessary to take into account the individual characteristics of each child.
5. Particular attention should be paid to the development of the cognitive interests of children who have a peculiar lag under the influence of a speech defect, narrowing of contacts with others, incorrect methods of family education and other reasons.
6. The teacher’s work on speech development in many cases precedes speech therapy classes, providing the necessary cognitive and motivational basis for the formation of speech skills.
7. The teacher’s own speech should serve as a model for children with speech disorders: be clear, extremely intelligible, well-intonated, expressive, without affecting sound pronunciation. Complex grammatical structures, phrases, and introductory words that complicate the understanding of the teacher’s speech by children should be avoided.
8. All the teacher’s work is based on the planned lexical topic. If children with mental retardation have not mastered this topic, then work on it can be extended for two weeks (under the guidance of a teacher-defectologist and teacher-speech therapist).
9. Each new topic should begin with an excursion, gaining practical experience, viewing, observing, talking about the picture.
10. When studying each topic, it is outlined, together with the teacher-speech therapist, the minimum vocabulary (subject, verb, vocabulary of signs) that children can and should learn in impressive and expressive speech.
11. A vocabulary intended for understanding should be much wider than for active use in a child’s speech. The grammatical categories and types of syntactic structures that need to be reinforced by the teacher following the correctional classes of the teacher - speech therapist (defectologist) are also clarified.
12. The primary focus when studying each new topic is to develop various types of thinking, attention, and perception. memory, It is necessary to widely use comparisons of objects, highlighting leading features, grouping objects by purpose, by characteristics, etc.
13. All correctional and developmental work of the teacher is built in accordance with the plans and recommendations of the teacher - defectologist and teacher - speech therapist of the group.
14. In correctional work with children with mental retardation, the teacher should use as widely as possible didactic games and exercises, since with their influence, better assimilation of the studied material is achieved.
15. Individual correctional work with children is carried out by the teacher mainly in the afternoon. Particular attention is paid to consolidating the results achieved by the teacher-defectologist in frontal and individual correctional and developmental classes.
16. In the first two to three weeks of September, the teacher, in parallel with the teacher-defectologist (speech therapist), conducts an examination of children to identify the child’s level of knowledge and skills in each type of activity.
17. The examination should be carried out in an interesting, entertaining form, using special gaming techniques available to children of this age.
18. An important area in the work of a teacher is compensation for the mental processes of a child with mental retardation, overcoming speech underdevelopment, his social adaptation - all this contributes to preparation for further education at school.
19. The teacher’s task is to create a friendly, comfortable environment in the children’s team, strengthen faith in one’s own capabilities, smooth out negative experiences and prevent outbursts of aggression and negativism.
1. It is necessary to take into account the age and psychophysical development of children with mental retardation.
2. It is advisable that the exercises be related to the topic of the lesson, because In children with mental retardation, switching from one activity to another is more difficult than in normally developing children.
3. The exercises used in the frontal correctional and developmental lesson should be simple in structure, interesting and familiar to children.
4. Exercises should be convenient to perform in a limited area.
6. The exercises used in the physical education minute must be emotional and quite intense (including 10–15 jumps, 10 squats or 30–40 seconds of running in place).
7. You need to know at what time of class to conduct a physical education minute:
In the middle group, at 9–11 minutes of class, because It is at this time that fatigue sets in;
In the older group - at 12 - 14 minutes;
In the preparatory group - at 14-16 minutes.
8. The total duration of a physical education minute is 1.5 – 2 minutes.
9. It is recommended that a teacher-defectologist working with children with mental retardation conduct physical education 5 minutes earlier, because In children of this category, fatigue occurs earlier.
10. If necessary, it is possible to conduct two minutes of physical education in one frontal correctional and developmental lesson.
11. Exercises are repeated 5 - 6 times.
12. A physical education minute should carry a semantic load: in a lesson on physical training - with elements of counting, in teaching literacy - it is full of the sound being studied, etc.
1. To develop fine motor skills of the hands of children with mental retardation, it is recommended to use a variety of preparatory exercises, during which it is necessary to take into account muscle tone (hypotonicity or hypertonicity).
2. All exercises should be carried out in the form of a game, which not only arouses children’s interest, but also helps to increase the technical tone of the child’s hand.
3. When selecting exercises, the teacher must take into account the age and mental characteristics of children with mental retardation, including the characteristics of visual perception, attention, memory, etc.
5. It is necessary to teach the child to navigate on a sheet of paper.
6. The development of fine motor skills of the hands should begin with the dominant hand, then perform exercises with the other hand, and then with both.
8. Work in an album or notebook should be preceded by finger gymnastics exercises.
9. If possible, you need to select finger gymnastics exercises that are related to the topic of the lesson.
First, you need to introduce children to the line (give the concept of what a “cell” is...);
With the direction of writing (from left to right);
The place where the letter begins (how many cells to retreat);
Learn to identify parts of a page and line boundaries.
13. Throughout the entire period of study, it is recommended to widely use coloring books with large, clear and understandable drawings for children (letters and numbers);
14. “Copybooks” for preschool children must be carefully selected by the teacher and recommended to parents.
15. Strict adherence to organizational and hygienic requirements for teaching writing is necessary, which preserves normal vision and correct posture of children.
16. The child spends enormous physical effort on the technical side of writing, so the duration of continuous writing for preschoolers should not exceed 5 minutes, and for schoolchildren - 10 minutes (first grade).
17. It is advisable to carry out work on developing basic graphic writing skills systematically 2 - 3 times a week for 7 - 10 minutes, as part of a lesson.
18. The teacher must monitor the lighting of the child’s workplace and his posture. The distance from the eyes to the notebook should be at least 33 cm.
19. When working with children with mental retardation, the teacher must create a calm, friendly environment that facilitates the achievement of correctional goals.
The success of correctional education is largely determined by how clearly the continuity in the work of the teacher - defectologist, speech therapist, educators and parents is organized.
1. A child with mental retardation has a weakened memory, voluntary attention has not been formed, and thought processes are lagging behind in development, so it is necessary to consolidate the learned material in kindergarten and at home.
To do this, homework is assigned to review the topic studied.
2. Initially, tasks are completed by the child with the active help of the parent, gradually teaching the child to be independent.
3. It is necessary to accustom the child to complete tasks independently. You should not rush to show how to perform a task. Help must be timely and reasonable.
4. It is important to determine who exactly from the adult environment of the child will work with him on the instructions of the defectologist.
5. Class time (15 – 20 minutes) should be fixed in the daily routine. Regular study time disciplines the child and helps him master the educational material.
6. Classes should be entertaining.
7. When receiving an assignment, you must carefully read its contents and make sure that you understand everything.
8. In difficult cases, consult a teacher.
9. Select the necessary visual didactic material, manuals recommended by the teacher - defectologist.
10. Classes must be regular.
11. Consolidation of knowledge can be carried out during walks, trips, on the way to kindergarten. But some types of activities require a calm business environment, as well as the absence of distractions.
12. Classes should be short and not cause fatigue and satiety.
13. It is necessary to diversify the forms and methods of conducting classes, to alternate classes on speech development with tasks on developing attention, memory, thinking...
14. It is necessary to adhere to the same requirements that are presented to the child.
15. A child with mental retardation almost always has impaired speech development, so it is necessary to train the child daily in performing articulatory gymnastics.
16. Exercises must be performed in front of a mirror.
17. Particular attention is paid not to speed, but to the quality and accuracy of performing articulation exercises.
18. It is important to monitor the purity of the movements: without accompanying movements, smoothly, without excessive tension or lethargy, monitor the full range of movements, accuracy, pace of exercises, often at the expense of an adult...
20. The exercise is performed 6 – 8 times for 10 seconds. (more is possible). For better clarity, the exercises are done together with the child, carefully showing and explaining each movement.
21. To consolidate the sound in a syllable or word, it is necessary to repeat speech material at least 3 times.
22. When pronouncing the desired sound, you should pronounce the sound in a syllable or word exaggeratedly (deliberately emphasizing it with your voice).
23. The notebook for consolidating the material must be kept neat.
24. Be patient with your child, friendly, but quite demanding.
25. Celebrate the slightest successes, teach your child to overcome difficulties.
26. Be sure to attend teacher consultations and open classes for teachers.
27. Consult and treat children in a timely manner from doctors to whom the teacher - defectologist refers.
Corrective goals , aimed at the formation of mental processes in children with mental retardation.
Corrective goals must be introduced into each lesson of a teacher - speech pathologist, teacher - speech therapist, educator, select them correctly (in accordance with the purpose of the lesson) and accurately formulate a goal aimed at correcting a particular mental process.
Correction of attention
1. Develop the ability to concentrate (the degree of concentration on an object).
2. Develop stability of attention (long-term focus on an object).
3. Develop the ability to switch attention (intentional, conscious transfer of attention from one object to another).
4. Develop the ability to distribute attention (the ability to hold several objects in the sphere of attention at the same time).
5. Increase the amount of attention (the number of objects that can be captured by the child’s attention at the same time).
6. Form targeted attention (focus in accordance with the task at hand).
7. Develop voluntary attention (requires volitional efforts).
8. Activate and develop visual and auditory attention.
Memory correction
1. Develop motor, verbal, figurative, verbal - logical memory.
2. Work on mastering knowledge through voluntary, conscious memorization.
3. Develop speed, completeness, and accuracy of reproduction.
4. Develop memorization strength.
5. Form the completeness of reproduction of verbal material (reproduce verbal material close to the text).
6. Improve the accuracy of reproducing verbal material (correct wording, ability to give a short answer).
7. Work on the sequence of memorization, the ability to establish cause-and-effect and temporary connections between individual facts and phenomena.
8. Work on increasing your memory capacity.
9. Learn to remember what you perceive and make choices based on a model.
Correction of sensations and perceptions
1. Work on clarifying visual, auditory, tactile, and motor sensations.
2. Develop targeted perception of color, shape, size, material and quality of an object. Enrich children's sensory experience.
3. Learn to correlate objects by size, shape, color, visually checking your choice.
4. Differentiate the perception of objects by color, size and shape.
5. Develop auditory and visual perception.
6. Increase the volume of visual, auditory, tactile ideas.
7. Form tactile discrimination of the properties of objects. Learn to recognize familiar objects by touch.
8. Develop tactile-motor perception. Learn to correlate the tactile-motor image of an object with a visual image.
9. Work on improving and qualitatively developing kinesthetic perception.
10. Work on increasing the field of view and speed of viewing.
11. Develop an eye.
12. Form the integrity of the perception of the image of the object.
13. Learn to analyze the whole from its constituent parts.
14. Develop visual analysis and synthesis.
15. Develop the ability to generalize objects based on characteristics (color, shape, size).
16. Develop the perception of the spatial arrangement of objects and their details.
17. Develop hand-eye coordination.
18. Work on the pace of perception.
Speech correction
1. Develop phonemic awareness.
2. Develop the functions of phonemic analysis and synthesis.
3. Form the communicative functions of speech.
4. Learn to differentiate speech sounds.
5. Improve the prosodic side of speech.
6. Expand passive and active vocabulary.
7. Improve the grammatical structure of speech.
8. Develop inflection and word formation skills.
9. Form dialogic speech.
10. Develop coherent speech. Work on the conceptual side of speech.
11. Help overcome speech negativism.
Correction of thinking
1. Develop visually - effective, visually - imaginative and logical thinking.
2. Develop the ability to analyze, compare, generalize, classify, systematize on a visual or verbal basis.
3. Learn to highlight the main, essential.
4. Learn to compare, find similarities and differences between the characteristics of objects and concepts.
5. Develop mental operations of analysis and synthesis.
6. Learn to group objects. Learn to independently determine the basis of a grouping, to identify an essential feature of an object for a given task.
7. Develop the ability to understand the connection of events and build consistent conclusions, establish cause and effect relationships.
8. Activate mental creative activity.
9. Develop critical thinking (objective assessment of others and yourself)
10. Develop independence of thinking (the ability to use public experience, independence of one’s own thoughts).
Correction of the emotional-volitional sphere
1. Develop the ability to overcome difficulties.
2. Foster independence and responsibility.
3. Develop a desire to achieve results, to bring the work started to completion.
4. Develop the ability to act purposefully and overcome feasible difficulties.
5. Cultivate honesty, goodwill, hard work, perseverance, and endurance.
6. Develop criticality.
7. Develop initiative and the desire to be active.
8. Develop positive behavioral habits.
9. Foster a sense of camaraderie and a desire to help each other.
10. Foster a sense of distance and respect for adults.
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In this article:
Mental retardation in children (MDD) is understood as a certain form of intellectual disability, which manifests itself in the immaturity of the individual, failures in the formation of the cognitive sphere, and a lag in the development of basic mental functions:
It is important to understand that mental retardation is not a clinical form of an incurable disease, but merely a development that occurs at a slow pace, as a result of which the child’s age and level of intelligence do not correspond to each other.
If such children are not dealt with, they will not be able to prepare for the educational process at school, even if they are assigned to a special correctional class. Also, falling behind will have a negative impact on their behavior, skills and personality development in general.
Features of children with mental retardation and causes of mental retardation
The following features are characteristic of children with mental retardation:
The following can affect the slowdown in the process of mental development of children:
- disorders of education, as a result of which the baby begins to lag behind his peers both mentally and physically (we are talking about harmonious infantilism);
- different types of somatic diseases (children with poor health);
- CNS lesions of varying severity.
Most often, children with mental retardation are visually no different from healthy children, 
Therefore, parents sometimes are not even aware of the problem, overestimating the child’s capabilities and not understanding what upbringing in a family should be like.
The first “swallows” of anxiety arrive in the family, as a rule, when the child is sent to kindergarten or school, where teachers pay attention to his inability to assimilate the material.
At this time, you need to start working with the baby according to a special program. It will be more difficult for him to catch up with his peers the later he is diagnosed with mental retardation. That is why it is so important to pay attention to the problem in a timely manner and take measures, adjusting the process of raising and developing a child in the family.
Diagnosis of mental retardation
It will be possible to fully understand the degree of mental retardation only with the help of doctors who will be able to conduct a comprehensive examination of the baby, 
taking into account the state of his brain functions and the nature of his behavior.
In the early stages at home, parents should pay attention first of all to how their child plays. Lack of formation of play activity is the first sign of mental retardation in children. Typically, such kids do not know how to play role-playing games, most often they are not able to come up with a plot themselves, and if they do, it is characterized by scarcity and monotony.
Practice shows that every child diagnosed with mental retardation can achieve certain success by studying according to the program of a regular comprehensive school. The main thing is that parents and teachers do not put too much pressure at an early stage, considering his slowness to be a result of laziness, but help him cope with difficulties and catch up with other students.
It is important that parents also understand for themselves that their baby is not exactly like others, but this is not a reason to push him, criticize and humiliate him.Yes, he is a little slower, but his results at school will be no worse than those of other children, if you take into account the characteristics of your upbringing, adhere to them and correctly formulate the learning process.
The role of family in the lives of children with mental retardation
It is worth noting that the family is the main factor in the development of a child, not only with mental retardation, but also a healthy one. His fate, his success, self-esteem and many other important things will depend on what his upbringing in the family will be like, the attitude of his parents.
Raising a child with mental retardation presents certain difficulties that parents need to be prepared for. Moreover, these are daily difficulties associated primarily with the baby’s behavior, 
which reflects the damage to his central nervous system and the subsequent consequences described above.
For a child diagnosed with mental retardation, it is extremely important to properly establish a relationship with his mother. If healthy children develop initial skills without any outside help, then a child with mental retardation needs the help of adults who must show understanding, patience and endurance.
Do not despair if properly structured upbringing of a child does not yet produce results. They will definitely exist, even in children with serious neuropsychiatric pathologies.
Children with mental retardation with manifestations of infantility: how to educate
Children with so-called psychological infantilism belong to the group with the first stage of mental retardation. They are easily distinguished by lack of independence, fatigue, helplessness and strong dependence on the mother.
The peculiarities of upbringing in a family with such children should be the development of independence. At the same time, you need to be aware that such kids will forever remain vulnerable, 
emotional and highly touchy.
Proper upbringing will allow such children to become the most diligent and obedient in the future. Yes, at some stage they do not know how to quickly adapt to changes, are often afraid of being ridiculed, and are in dire need of clear guidance to action. But, realizing what upbringing should be like in this case, parents will be able to structure the process in such a way as to develop positive qualities in the child and help him cope with uncertainty and fear.
Infantile children are indeed lacking in initiative, but they completely change their line of behavior if they receive adequate praise from adults. Especially important for such children is the praise of their mother, who for them is the embodiment of security. When a mother gently prompts, supports and praises, the child’s emotional connection with her is strengthened, allowing him to cope with innate fears (most often the fear of death).
The lack of attention and support from the mother in a child with mental retardation and infantilism will cause a feeling of resentment and misunderstanding, which will encourage him to “become small” again in order to receive the mother’s attention.Infant behavior will be a signal that the baby feels a lack of attention and support. Only praise and a strong connection with parents will become an incentive for the development of such children, so upbringing in the family should be built on this principle.
Parents' mistakes
Many parents, when forming upbringing in the family, realizing the child’s problem, deliberately try to develop in him qualities that were not initially inherent. Naturally, they think that they are helping the baby, teaching him to be strong, strong-willed and 
purposeful, in a word, ready for the conditions and challenges of the modern world. Typically, such upbringing is typical for parents whose time rhythm does not coincide with the child’s time rhythm.
Instead of allowing the kids to calmly finish what they started, such parents get angry because of their slowness, push them on, thus testing their fragile psyche.
By watching parents get irritated, the child understands that he and his actions are the main reason for their disappointment and anger. He is deprived of a sense of security, without which it is difficult to talk about full development. It is the loss of this feeling that becomes the main obstacle to performing even the simplest actions.
Approximately the same situation can be observed in a doctor’s office, where a child is brought to assess the level of his mental development. A child may feel insecure in the company of a stranger, in an unfamiliar place, which, if diagnosed with mental retardation, can lead to an overly emotional reaction and even hysteria, which will interfere with an objective assessment of the state of his mental health.
Children with mental infantilism need contact with their parents, and primarily with their mother. Education should be built on trust and help - this is how adults will help the child cope with fears.
As soon as the baby finds the strength to get rid of fear, his intellect will move to a new level of development due to the disappearance of the barrier that interferes with the acquisition of important skills.
How to raise a lagging child?
The situation is somewhat aggravated when a child with mental retardation has a sound vector of development, that is, when his most sensitive channel for perceiving information is auditory. Such children are very sensitive to sounds and react negatively to negative intonations in the voice.
Compared to other children, such children stand out for their desire for loneliness. It is difficult for them to adapt to a team; they 
are not ready to devote time to children's noisy entertainment.
Such children are characterized by a quiet voice, isolation and some awkwardness. They often ask again, answer questions after a pause. This does not happen because the child does not understand or does not hear - he is simply too absorbed in the inner world. Visually, such absent-mindedness may seem like retardation.
Children with increased sound sensitivity practically do not express emotions, which often misleads adults who are not endowed with the ability to hear and feel as subtly as they do.
Proper upbringing of such children will reveal in them the inclinations for abstract thinking, foreign languages, and mathematical sciences.
Such children are especially calm at night, when they have the opportunity to listen to the sounds of silence. It is usually difficult to put these children to sleep, because before going to bed they think for a long time, listen, “travel” through their own inner world, as a result of which in the morning they feel overwhelmed, lethargic and inactive.
The incorrect sound atmosphere surrounding such a child from childhood can cause a delay in his mental development. Sounds that irritate the ear have a negative impact on the child, who may experience depression as a result. 
have certain difficulties establishing contacts with other children.
Improper upbringing of such a child, with regular scandals, shouting and insults, can lead to the development of partial autism. The baby's hypersensitive sound sensor simply cannot cope with the load, and the neural connections responsible for learning will not be able to perform their functions. As a result, such a child will hear sounds without understanding their meaning.
The importance of a differentiated approach to raising children with mental retardation
It is necessary to understand that raising a child with mental retardation is serious, complex, long-term work. Only a differentiated approach to the process can make it easier. Having identified the innate properties of the child’s psyche, parents can direct efforts to their development, help cope with basic problems and teach life in a social environment.
It will be important to form a correct picture of the child’s mental image in order to determine those qualities that are pathological and require medical correction, and those that can be corrected as a result of proper upbringing. Such a system will make it possible to correct existing deviations, develop the positive qualities of a child with mental retardation, and prevent the subsequent emergence of negative qualities that hinder his full development.
Another group of children has been examined and has an official conclusion. However, due to a lack of places in specialized kindergartens, or due to parents’ misunderstanding of the complexity of the situation and due to unfounded prejudices, many children with mental retardation attend general education groups.
In the new conditions of inclusive education, there are more and more such children. Therefore, teachers need to improve their professional level in the field of special education, learn to work with a new category of children in order to give the latter equal starting opportunities. Educators need psychological and pedagogical support on the path to professional and personal growth, gaining practical experience in an inclusive education environment.
20 rules for teachers of working with children with mental retardation
- Keep such children in sight at all times and do not leave them unattended.
- Repeat material many times in class.
- , reward for the smallest things.
- When conducting any type of classes or games, the teacher must remember that it is necessary to solve not only the problems of the general education program, but also correctional problems.
- Reinforce the material covered in free activities, during routine moments.
- Offer easier tasks to a child with mental retardation without informing the student about it.
- Conduct additional individual lessons to consolidate the material.
- Do not give the child multi-step instructions, but break them up into parts.
- Since children with mental retardation have low performance capacity and are quickly exhausted, there is no need to force the child to engage in active mental activity at the end of the lesson.
- It is necessary to use the maximum number of analyzers when learning new material.
- Since children with mental retardation lack curiosity and have low learning motivation, it is necessary to use beautiful, bright visuals.
- The teacher’s speech should serve as a model for children with speech disorders: be clear, extremely intelligible, well-intonated, expressive, without affecting sound pronunciation. Complex grammatical structures, phrases, and introductory words that complicate the understanding of the teacher’s speech by children should be avoided.
- Do not focus on the child's shortcomings.
- Give feasible instructions, develop independence, responsibility, and criticism of one’s actions.
- Give the child a choice, develop the ability to make decisions, and take responsibility.
- Learn to analyze your actions and be critical of the results of your work. End discussions on a positive note.
- Include the child in public life, show his importance in society, teach him to recognize himself as an individual.
- Establish a trusting partnership with the child’s parents or relatives, be attentive to the parents’ requests, what, in their opinion, is important and necessary at the moment for their child, and agree on joint actions aimed at supporting the child.
- If necessary, advise parents to contact specialists (speech therapist, speech pathologist, psychologist).
- If necessary, advise seeking medical help from specialized specialists (neurologist, immunologist, otolaryngologist, ophthalmologist).
At the present stage of development of inclusive education, it is necessary to rely on the experience of integrative education, which by this time has developed in specialized institutions that have qualified specialists, a methodological base, and special conditions that take into account the individual characteristics of children.