In mentally retarded children, the normal development of cognitive, mental processes is disrupted, their perception, memory, verbal-logical thinking, speech, and so on worsen. Such children are characterized by difficulties in social adaptation, formation of interests. Many of them are disrupted physical development, there are difficulties in articulation, motor motility, some external changes may occur, for example, the shape of the skull, the size of the limbs may change somewhat.
Mental retardation is divided into 3 degrees: debility (relatively shallow backwardness), imbecility (deep backwardness), idiocy (the most severe backwardness). There is also another classification of mental retardation: mild degree (IQ less than 70), moderate degree (IQ less than 50), severe degree (IQ less than 35), deep grade (IQ less than 20).
Beginning with a mentally retarded child is necessary from early childhood. Such children have low interest in the objective world, for a long time curiosity does not arise, for example, a child does not consider a toy, does not play with it, and so on. Here, a purposeful correction is necessary to ensure that the child has mastered the correct forms of behavior, activities, characteristics of the child. Thinking, perception of the world around children with mental retardation are at a low level, if you do not deal with these children.
If we start the development of a mentally retarded preschool child in a whirlwind, then he will lose the skill of communicating with people, the skill of objective action. If the child does not have enough contact with his peers and adults, does not play games with children or participate in any activity, it will negatively affect social adaptation, development of thinking, memory, self-awareness, imagination, speech, will and etc. With the correct approach to the organization of upbringing and education, it is possible to correct disruptions in the development of cognitive processes and speech.
You can achieve different results when teaching in a school child with mental retardation, depending on the degree of backwardness. Children with an average and severe degree of mental retardation (imbecility, idiocy) are children with disabilities. They receive a pension and must either have a guardian or be in special institutions on social security. Not all parents can cope with such terrible grief, so they should receive psychotherapeutic and advisory support.
Children with mild mental retardation (debility) have problems of a different kind. One of the main problems is the complex learning ability of children in the program of a mass general education school. And teaching a child in an auxiliary (correctional school) is a difficult step for parents.
In each country, the methods and the place of education of children with mental retardation differ in different ways. Until recently, in our country, mentally retarded children were trained more often in auxiliary schools. But recently, parents increasingly give these children to ordinary schools, even ignoring the commission's conclusion. According to the law, children with mental retardation should undergo an examination of the medical and pedagogical commission, which decides whether it is able to study in a regular school or kindergarten.
In correctional schools, children come only with the consent of their parents, but, as already said, it is often difficult for parents to take this step, and they give the child to a regular school. In some mass schools there are correction classes for children with mental retardation, and in some private schools also mentally retarded children are trained. A major problem is the normal social adaptation and education of children with mild degrees of backwardness. But if a child adapts well and is helped to learn, then, having matured, he can become a full member of society: get a job, even start a family and children. Therefore, it is very important that these children and their parents undergo regular consultations with specialists.
Not all mentally retarded children are able to study in ordinary schools, since often these children also have different pathologies. But there are children who can not immediately tell that their development is lagging behind, which, though with difficulty, can overpower education in a regular school. However, in school such a child needs a person (tutor), who will accompany him to classes, help to carry out various tasks. A mentally retarded child can be trained in a mass school, but this requires appropriate conditions and a good confluence of circumstances. At school there should be small classes, and, ideally, in the educational institution there must be a defectologist and a psychologist.
But all the same, the joint training of healthy and mentally retarded children has some psychological difficulties for the latter. If a mentally retarded child with a tutor or without a teacher studies in the classroom, the teacher, eventually, can explain to most children how to behave and how to treat the child, but there may always be a couple of students who will humiliate and offend a child with mental retardation. In schools, a high level of aggression, children are often cruel, and a child with mental retardation often does not know how to pretend and is very vulnerable. In a regular school, this child may become clogged.
In addition, a mentally retarded child will find it extremely difficult to master physics, mathematics, and foreign languages. In addition, if such a child falls into a regular school and into a regular class, the school will have to evaluate it not according to the USE standards, but according to the standards for attestation of mentally retarded children. Therefore, the best option for teaching a child with mental retardation in a regular school is a special correctional class. But, unfortunately, many schools refused to create such classes.
So far, children with mental retardation are most often trained in special correctional schools, since at the moment there is no decent substitute for such schools. Now you know everything about the education and upbringing of a child with mental retardation in school.