Awareness in common 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 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 a fairly rapid equalization of the pace of development of children with delays, thanks to the timely intervention of parents and specialists. Due to long-term experiments and studies on this topic, it was concluded that the group of children with mental developmental disabilities is heterogeneous in the nature of the origin of the disease. Due to the peculiarities of origin and their predominant manifestation, several types of mental retardation are distinguished.
Peculiarities of mental development
What is mental retardation? They are reversible, that iscorrectable 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 mental retardation may pose a danger to the development of a growing personality, since these disorders are characterized by difficulties in learning and the formation of he althy emotions, worldview and adequate social perception of the environment. That is why it is so important to identify problems in this area in time and consult a doctor - for a start, a pediatrician. Diagnosis of mental retardation is carried out exclusively collegially, by a special commission consisting of medical specialists, teachers and psychologists. During the examination, the child is checked comprehensively, after which a general conclusion is established. On its basis, if necessary, the necessary treatment is prescribed or, otherwise, the correction of the 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 ability and a desire to make more mature, age-appropriate decisions. A striking example of a he althy psyche is the desire for independent behavior of a 4-year-old child in autonomous situations and the desire to act independently, learning about the world around. Since the problems of children with mentalage-appropriate mental infantilism, difficult to learn, doctors recommend a specially designed training program. Before starting treatment, you need to make sure that there is a slow pace of development of the child. Unlike mental retardation, mental retardation affects a wide range of CNS functions, but each of them is reduced in a mild 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.
Diagnosis of ZPR
According to statistics, 1 in 4 children are prone to developmental delays, so 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 complete analysis of the child's living conditions and hereditary information is carried out.
- Neuropsychological testing must be introduced, taking into account the analysis of the child's independence and social adaptation.
- Speech mobility diagnosed.
- Particular attention is paid to the conversation with the patient in order to reveal the features of the intellectual process and emotional-volitional characteristics.
Classification
So, mental retardation (MPD) 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 somatogenicorigin. The same signs of mental retardation: the predominance of gaming interests, lack of attention and memory are due to long-term illnesses at an early age, which were of a somatic nature. Examples: diseases of the cardiovascular system and kidneys, respiratory tract, including bronchial asthma. A certain kind of pressure on the maturation of the CNS comes from prolonged medical treatment in the hospital, which also adds to the limited effect on the senses (sensory deprivation).
- ZPR of constitutional origin. A case caused by arbitrary delayed maturation of the central nervous system (CNS) as a result of exposure to hereditary factors. Children beyond their age are infantile, 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 by the inability to memorize large amounts of information and concentrate on one object, in the case of school-age children.
- ZPR of psychogenic genesis. The causes of this type of mental retardation are lack of attention or overprotection, as well as child abuse. They can cause certain delays in the development of psychogenic origin. Hyper-custody 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 mentallyunstable and painfully negative towards others, infantile impulsive. Abuse produces unforeseen symptoms of mental retardation.
- ZPR of cerebral-organic genesis. According to studies of the components 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-rough organic lesion of the brain. Deviations and mental retardation in children are expressed in the form of symptoms such as lack of interest in the outside world, insufficient brightness of emotions and imagination, high level of suggestibility, etc.
Read more about the constitutional ZPR
With a mental retardation of constitutional origin, all pathologies are determined by hereditary factors. Children with this type of delay are immature for their age, both physically and mentally. That is why this kind of deviation is called harmonic mental infantilism.
Children with mental retardation and deviations involved in the general educational process attract attention from the first day at school, immediately acquiring the status of underachiever in all subjects. The only thing that is good for children with mental retardation of constitutional origin is communication with others and with peers, due to their cheerful and kind disposition.
Mental retardation is a violation of its pace relative to the normal period of a child's development. Features of lagging behind children with mental retardation from their peers are heterogeneous. Mostly mental andemotional features, sometimes manifested in the physical development of children. The general educational program is not suitable for children with such mental characteristics. Their training among faster developing peers will reduce the efficiency and rate of perception of information of the whole class, besides violating discipline. After such a conclusion, doctors advise the appointment of specialized schools for children with mental retardation.
Harmonic infantilism is not a final 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 for successful correction. For example, outdoor games are organized for children with mental retardation.
What could be the cause
The basis of deviations in the child's psyche is biological and socio-psychological factors and shortcomings that lead to a decrease in the rate of development of the intellect and the emotional background of the child's psyche.
Causes of CRA of constitutional origin can be:
- 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 problematic pregnancy and some complications that may accompany pregnancy: Rhesus conflicts, some types of intrauterine infections, trauma during childbirth, and many others.
- Social or environmental factors. Cause developmental delays and failurespsyche under the influence of overprotection or lack of attention, abuse or isolation of the child from the external environment and communication with peers.
- Secondary factors. Occur in early childhood diseases that are difficult for a fragile organism. For example, hearing or vision impairments in case of damage to the corresponding organs in diseases.
- Metabolic factors. Changes in mental metabolism and increased need for certain vitamins and minerals.
Features of children with mental retardation
Let's consider how a child with such a pathology stands out. The difference between mental retardation and mental retardation is that mental retardation is reversible and can be corrected. 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 mental retardation is particularly unstable and fragile.
Features of the psyche of children with developmental delays are reduced to the following signs:
- Differences in response to the environment. Liveliness of facial expressions, bright gestures, sudden movements. Learning preferences exclusively in the form of a game.
- Features in perception and learning. Reluctance to learn through general education programs: mandatory volumes of educational material for training in reading, writing and drawing.
- Preferring the game part to other ways of getting information. Tirelessness and creativity in games, absent-mindedness and lack of attention in studies.
- From the emotional-volitional component of the psyche. Emotional instability is pronounced. Against the background of high fatigue, there are nervous mood swings and tantrums when encountering situations that are unfamiliar or unpleasant for the child.
- Love to fantasize. It is a means of psychological balancing. Removal 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 at the early stages of their detection and only in conditions of special training and education. Game inclinations of perception of the surrounding world are taken into account when children with mental retardation are involved in teaching and development activities.
Specialists develop compound programs with outdoor games for children with mental retardation in combination with dosed educational information from the general program. This style of learning is necessary for the compensatory restoration of missed developmental stages, corresponding to 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 that affect a child's developmental delay compared to generally accepted age norms. However, there are a number of methods, hygiene and preventive measures.
The list of main prevention methods includes pregnancy planning,prevention of any infectious and somatic diseases both in mother and child at an early age, avoidance of mechanical, chemical and other negative effects on the fetus, as well as providing favorable conditions for the upbringing and development of the child.
Treatment
Harmonic infantilism or mental retardation is corrected quite successfully, provided that a child with mental retardation is placed in a well-organized developmental and learning environment.
The dynamics of a child's development is determined by the significance of disorders and pathologies, the level of intelligence, potential and level of performance of the child. Much attention should be paid to time - the sooner the diagnosis of mental retardation is established, the sooner it will be possible to start correction without letting the situation worsen.
One of the key problems in the construction and selection of corrective programs is due to the variety of types of mental retardation 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 unformed cognitive activity.
Harmonic infantilism can be quite successfully corrected under the condition of a properly organized developmental environment.
The dynamics of a child's development depends on the depth of disorders, the level of intelligence, mental performance and early correction. The time of the beginning of correctional and developmental work is of paramount importance. The earlier the delay is detected and corrective activity is started, the more chances the child has to get closer in his development.to the requirements of the norm.
What corrective programs include
Individual correctional programs take into account many characteristics of the child and the degree of development of intelligence and potential performance, as well as the formation of the structure of mental activity, the development of sensorimotor function and much more.
- Working with children with mental retardation requires a common, multifaceted approach. The treatment and correction of such deviations includes the participation of children's doctors of various fields. The complex of examinations and observations includes the work of children's neurologists, psychologists, psychiatrists and speech therapists. Defectologists and pediatricians of general practice are also included in the work. Such a correction is recommended for a long time and even from preschool age.
- For children with established mental retardation, attendance at specialized schools and groups or classes in preschool educational institutions is recommended.
- The main features of children with mental retardation are the dosage of educational material and its game type of teaching. All material is divided into small information elements with an emphasis on clarity, frequent change of activities and repetition.
- Special 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.
- A very important element of work is constant monitoring bydefectologists, psychologists and psychiatrists.
- This type of mild disorder is restored through drug therapy in accordance with the identified disorders. An important addition: massages, exercise therapy (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 mental retardation are designed specifically 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 know that there are no general programs for correcting the developmental features of the child's psyche, even in schools for children with mental retardation.
Such correctional educational and developmental programs are formed individually for each child. Even for work in specialized classes for children with mental retardation, 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 he alth and contact pediatric specialists in time.
