Mental retardation is a mild and reversible impairment of cognitive activity and the emotional-volitional sphere of a child.
The difference between mental retardation and other severe pathologies of the nervous system is that this disorder is caused mainly by the too slow rate of its maturation. According to statistics, mental retardation occurs in 16% of preschoolers over 4 years of age and younger schoolchildren. Many parents consider the diagnosis of mental retardation to be a death sentence, but this is the wrong position. With timely diagnosis and correction, children with mental retardation gradually catch up with their peers and are no different from them.
Features of children with mental retardation
Diagnosis of mental retardation is based on an objective assessment of the state of the emotional-volitional sphere, the degree of intellectual and interpersonal development.
Children with mental retardation do not feel responsible for their actions and do not control them, do not see themselves from the outside, do not obey established rules, and in most cases they cannot establish good relationships with adults and peers. Their main activity is gaming. They show no interest in studying, do not ask questions about the world around them, etc.
The weak point of children with mental retardation is perseverance and attention. They quickly lose interest, are impatient, and find it difficult to sit in one place for more than 20 minutes. In terms of speech development and cognitive activity, they are noticeably behind other children, since they have poor memory, reduced attention, poorly developed abstract thinking, they confuse concepts, cannot identify the main features of objects, phenomena, and more. Their main goal is to have fun, so as soon as they get bored with something, they immediately switch to another activity or subject. Children with mental retardation have few friends, both among their peers and among teachers and adults. They are often very lonely, playing alone or with adults because they have difficulty learning rules and need someone to constantly guide them. Their behavior is characterized by fear, aggression, delayed reactions, and inability to conduct a normal dialogue.
A complete diagnosis always includes a conversation with the child, tests of perception, memory, ability to analyze information, and also assesses the level of development of the emotional-volitional sphere and the ability to communicate interpersonally. The diagnosis of “ZPR” is always made only by a psychological, medical and pedagogical commission.
How does mental retardation manifest?
With developmental retardation, the following are delayed:
- all forms of thinking - comparison, abstraction, generalization, analysis and synthesis, mental activity is reduced;
- memory - visual material is better perceived, it is difficult to remember information by ear. The memory of children with mental retardation is poorly developed - they have difficulty remembering instructions, it is difficult for them to retell a text or repeat a task;
- perception - such children need much more time to process information than their peers. It is difficult for them to form an idea of the world around them, to imagine quantities (length, width, volume), they have a low level of orientation and research activity, spatial perception is reduced, they experience difficulties in forming a holistic image of an object;
- emotional-volitional sphere - characterized by infantilism, emotional instability, excitability, difficulties with organizing one’s activities;
- attention - it is difficult for a child to concentrate, concentrate, or listen to a question or task to the end. He interrupts, starts answering ahead of time, finds it difficult to sit still, is too “loud”, impulsive, impatient, uncollected. During lessons he is often distracted and perceives information partially (fragmented attention).
It is difficult for a child with mental retardation to navigate in space; he will not be able to find a thing if he does not initially know where it is, even if it is in the most visible place. It is also difficult for such children to identify an object by touch, remember what it looks like, and talk about it from memory.
With mental retardation, children often experience low speech activity and delayed speech development (ZRD, ZPRD). Their vocabulary is poor, does not correspond to age standards, phonemic hearing is poorly developed, speech is not formed, statements are primitive and unfocused, they often confuse, omit or replace sounds and letters in words (paraphasia).
Types of ZPR
The correction program is selected depending on the type of mental retardation diagnosed in the child. It is customary to distinguish 4 types of this violation.
ZPR of constitutional origin
Such children are small in weight and height. At school and kindergarten they are very curious and quickly make friends, as their character is usually soft and cheerful. Teachers constantly reprimand them for restlessness, talking in class, and being late. Their thinking and memory are poorly developed, so their academic performance leaves much to be desired. With this type of mental retardation, the prognosis is generally favorable. When teaching, it is necessary to use more the visual-effective principle. Classes are useful for developing attention, memory, and thinking; they should be conducted under the guidance of a psychologist and speech pathologist.
ZPR of somatogenic origin
This type of mental retardation occurs as a result of severe infections or traumatic brain injuries in early childhood. Intelligence is preserved, but mental infantilism and asthenia are present. Children are attached to their parents, without them they are very bored, cry, and become helpless. In lessons they do not show any initiative, get tired quickly, are extremely disorganized, study is uninteresting to them, and often refuse to answer the teacher’s questions; nevertheless, they have a hard time dealing with failures and low grades. Children with a somatogenic form of mental retardation need to attend a sanatorium-type school, where they can receive round-the-clock medical and pedagogical assistance. If somatic causes are eliminated, then further correction of mental development will take place quickly and successfully.
ZPR of psychogenic origin
Children with this type of mental retardation experience a lack of attention and warmth from close relatives, especially their mother. They often grow up in a dysfunctional family, surrounded by scandals, and their social contacts are monotonous. Children experience constant anxiety, are downtrodden, and find it difficult to make independent decisions. The ability to analyze is poorly developed, they live in their own world, often do not distinguish between good and bad, and have a small vocabulary. Children with a psychogenic form of mental retardation respond well to correctional classes and quickly catch up with their peers.
ZPR of cerebral-organic origin
The disorder is caused by organic brain damage that occurs during pregnancy, difficult childbirth, or due to previous illnesses. As a result of asthenia, children quickly get tired, do not remember information well, and have difficulty concentrating on one activity. Primitive thinking, inhibited emotional reactions, suggestibility, rapid loss of interest, inability to build relationships with people, manifestation of aggression and fear, confusion of the concepts of “want” and “need” - these are the characteristic features of children with mental retardation of this type. The prognosis for this form of mental retardation is not very favorable; the condition cannot be completely corrected. In the absence of correction, the child begins to regress.
How does ZPR differ from ZRR and ZPRR?
Delays in speech and psychospeech development (SRD and DSD) occur as a result of organic lesions of the brain and central nervous system. The reasons for the delay may be: illnesses suffered by the mother during pregnancy, fetal hypoxia, birth pathologies, chromosomal or genetic diseases, severe infections, congenital anomalies of the central nervous system, cerebral vascular pathologies, cerebral palsy, mental illnesses (epilepsy, etc.), tumors brain, etc.
For ZRR and ZPRR:
- intellectual impairments are secondary, and timely correctional work aimed at speech development gives positive dynamics in the normalization of intelligence;
- the lag is not synchronous - speech development lags behind much more than mental development;
- With timely diagnosis and competent correctional work with specialists and at home with parents, the child will be able to catch up with his peers by the senior preschool age.
For ZPR:
- Initially, it is the intellectual development that does not correspond to age, as a result - problems with speech formation;
- there are no specific speech errors, the level of speech development corresponds to the level of development of younger children;
- speech development is delayed as much as general mental development as a whole - synchrony is maintained;
- speech can develop spontaneously, just later than in peers. To correct secondary speech problems, sessions with a speech therapist may be required.
Diagnosis of mental retardation
To determine mental retardation, a comprehensive comprehensive examination of the child is necessary by a psychological, medical, and pedagogical commission (PMPC), which may include: a psychiatrist, educational psychologist, neuropsychologist, speech therapist, defectologist (oligophrenopedagogist), neurologist, pediatrician and other specialists (if necessary).
Specialists carry out differential diagnosis, which includes:
- a thorough examination of the medical history (including the prenatal and postnatal period of development). This will help to identify the primary causes of the violation and understand their nature;
- communication directly with the child (acquaintance, conversation, testing, psychological examination), as a result of which conclusions are drawn about the state of his mental development;
- a conversation with parents, during which it becomes clear in what conditions the child lives and is raised, what is the psychological situation in the family, what kind of relationships are established between family members.
After a comprehensive study of the child’s medical history, the composition of his family, and the social and living conditions of his life, specialists identify the root causes, the degree and nature of the violations, draw up a pedagogical prognosis and a plan for correctional work.
Interrelation in the work of specialists
A close relationship between a speech therapist, a speech pathologist, educators, and a music director is possible subject to joint planning of work: choosing a topic and developing classes, determining the sequence of classes and tasks. As a result of joint discussion, plans for frontal, subgroup and individual lessons are drawn up. It is important that a speech therapist, a speech pathologist, and a teacher simultaneously solve correctional educational problems in their own classes. Only in this case, the correction of speech deficiencies in preschool children with mental retardation will be carried out systematically.
The responsibilities of a teacher-psychologist include: an in-depth study of the characteristics of children’s intellectual development, personal and behavioral reactions; conducting group and individual classes aimed at normalizing the emotional and personal sphere, increasing the mental development and adaptive capabilities of the child. Providing advisory assistance to defectologists and educators in the development of correctional programs for the individual development of a child.
The music director organizes work on the musical education of children, taking into account their individual, age, and mental characteristics in close contact with the teacher and defectologist, and contributes to the creation of a positive emotional atmosphere in the preschool institution.
A doctor (neurologist, child psychiatrist) of a medical institution serving a preschool educational institution conducts an individual study of the child, prescribes treatment according to indications, and systematically monitors the treatment. Develops a plan of treatment and preventive measures, advises specialists, educators and parents on the issues of an individual approach to children and the choice of appropriate conditions for their further education.
Creating optimal conditions for the development of children with mental retardation depends largely on the competence of specialists in the field of general and special pedagogy and psychology, and interdisciplinary interaction.
Correction of mental retardation (MDD)
Parents of children with mental retardation need to be prepared for the fact that the correction process is quite difficult and lengthy. Such children need comprehensive help from several specialists. If a child needs drug treatment, it is provided by a neurologist. The development of cognitive functions is carried out by a defectologist (oligophrenopedagogue). The psychologist, for his part, is responsible for the development of the emotional-volitional sphere. For mental retardation, such types of non-conversational psychotherapy are indicated as: sand therapy, play therapy, fairy tale therapy, art therapy, etc. To correct secondary speech disorders, you will need a speech therapist.
