Psychological assistance to children with mental retardation. Psychological assistance strategy and directions in the work of a psychologist with children with mental retardation

The main goal of psychological correction of children and adolescents with mental retardation is to optimize their intellectual activity by stimulating mental processes and forming positive motivation for cognitive activity.

An important principle of psychological correction of cognitive processes and personality of children is taking into account the form and severity of mental retardation.

For example, in children with psychophysical infantilism in the structure of a cognitive defect, the determining role belongs to the underdevelopment of the motivational side of learning activity. Therefore, the psycho-correctional process should be aimed at the development of cognitive motives. And in children with mental retardation of cerebral-organic origin, there is a total underdevelopment of the prerequisites for intelligence: visual-spatial perception, memory, attention. In this regard, in the correctional process, all attention is given to the formation of these mental processes, the development of skills of self-control and regulation of activity.

For the convenience of analyzing the violation of cognitive activity, it is advisable to single out three main blocks of the psycho-corrective process: motivational, regulatory, and the self-control control block.

Directions and tasks of psychological correction of children with various forms of mental retardation

Psychocorrective classes with children with mental retardation for the development of cognitive processes can be carried out both individually and in a group. The unity of requirements for the child on the part of the teacher, psychologist and other specialists is important, especially when correcting the ability to control one's actions. This is successfully achieved with careful observance of the daily routine, a clear organization of the child's daily life, excluding the possibility of not completing the actions begun by the child.

Teaching a child self-control is successfully achieved in the process of designing classes. Of particular interest is the method of teaching children to model construction, developed by A. R. Luria and his students (1948) and successfully used by us in psychotherapy. corrective work with children with cerebral palsy and mental retardation of cerebral-organic origin (Mamaychuk, 1978, 1984). The essence of this method lies in the fact that model samples are presented to the child sealed with thick white paper, and before starting to build, the child had to systematically examine the sample himself, select the appropriate details for it, i.e. the sample model offers the child a certain task, but does not provide a way to solve it. A. R. Luria (1948) conducted the following experiment: he divided twin children into two groups. One group was trained to design from visual samples, and their brothers and sisters were trained to design from model samples. After several months of learning to design, psychologists examined the children, studied the features of their perception, thinking, and drawing. The results of the survey revealed that children learning to construct according to models showed higher dynamics in mental development than their brothers and sisters, who were offered construction in the traditional way. The formation of self-control and independent ways of solving problems is facilitated by teaching children to design according to the conditions proposed by N. P. Pod'yakov (1972). The child is offered to make an object out of finished parts that can be used in specific, predetermined conditions, i.e. in this case, the child does not have a model in front of him, but he is only given the conditions, based on which it is necessary to determine what the building should be, and then construct it. Undoubtedly, with this method of teaching design, it is important that the mental processes of children acquire a more indirect character than when designing according to a model. For example, when given the task of building a "garage" out of prefabricated blocks that could accommodate a "truck", the child begins to preliminarily analyze the size of the truck, abstracting from all its other properties. This requires a sufficiently high level of abstraction, which makes it possible for children to form specific ways of correlating certain properties of conditions with the corresponding properties of a building. Designing according to models and conditions successfully forms orienting activity in children, contributes to the development of self-control of their actions in the process of performing constructive tasks and in analyzing their results.

Irina Katsyuba
Psychological help children with mental retardation

Correction- developing work with children with mental retardation is determined in accordance with their educational needs, due to age, degree and variety of disorders, as well as socio-cultural conditions of life and education.

E. A. Strebeleva highlights the specific educational needs of children with mental retardation. First of all, it must be taken into account that such children especially need a situation of success constantly supported by adults. It should refer both to the subject-practical activity in which the child could learn and transfer methods and skills to new situations, and to interpersonal interaction. underdevelopment and the specificity of the communicative needs of children with mental retardation requires parallel individual and collective work. Emotional should go along with the cognitive development of children with mental retardation, which is due to the immaturity of the emotional and moral sphere of the personality of these children.

Taking into account such specific needs will contribute to the painless socialization of children.

Job psychologist tailored to the needs of the institution. If it has a defectologist teacher, psychologist focuses on correction and development emotional sphere and behavior of children, on development communication needs. In another case, individual work also includes classes on the correction of the cognitive sphere in accordance with the results of the diagnosis.

One of the main places in correctional work should be given to all forms of manual activity, including drawing, modeling, applique, design, mosaic work, finger gymnastics, sewing, etc.

In drawing, you can use the following games- exercises:

Drawing from a sample;

Working with stencils;

Outline, Outline and Inline Outline;

Coloring and shading.

In the application, you can use both the tear-off method (without the use of scissors) and the cutting method. Development scissor skills can act as an independent activity.

Justifying the relationship development movements of the fingers and the intellect of children, A. L. Sirotyuk1 suggests using finger gymnastics as a method for correcting the intellect of children. The purpose of the classes is to synchronize the work of the hemispheres of the brain, development potential abilities, memory, attention, speech, thinking. In addition, the technique of A. L. Sirotyuk includes breathing exercises and exercises developing muscles of the tongue. The author also proposes a program development intelligence of older preschoolers using kinesiology methods.

children with ZPR useful exercise games aimed at development tactile sensitivity:

In a container with cereal (e.g. millet or rice) some small toy is hiding, the task of the child is to find it and describe it without reaching it;

Sorting mixed cereals into separate boxes;

Laying out figures from cereals;

Games with pieces of various materials and fabrics, etc.

Also, you can play with various types constructor, sticks, puzzles, mosaics, etc.

Requires special attention development speech mediation of children's actions. You can use the following tricks:

Encouragement and support of correct answers at the stage of orientation in the task;

Talking with the child about what he will do, as well as the sequence of actions;

Repetition by the child of the task aloud;

Recall and repeat the task after it is completed;

Engaging the child as helper for other children.

In working with children with mental retardation, didactic games should be widely used, which contribute to the formation of self-control, the development of sensory standards and learning skills. The book by A. A. Kataeva and E. A. Strebeleva presents didactic games, with help which specialists can solve various corrective tasks:

Formation of cooperation between a child and an adult and mastering the ways of assimilation of social experience;

- development of manual motor skills;

sensory education;

- development of thinking;

- speech development.

Value didactic game lies in the fact that she makes the learning process itself emotional, with enough in large numbers repetition keeps the child interested in the task. This is especially important when working with children with mental retardation.

It should be noted that the choice of corrective methods depends primarily on the age and degree of impairment identified during the diagnostic examination of the child. But no less important aspect of the choice is the level of qualification and experience. professional activity the specialist himself.

The importance of establishing close interaction with the family is determined by the fact that it is she, as the most important institution, that determines the characteristics of social child development.

Formation and zones of the nearest development, and the social situation development It is determined by the system of relations of the child with close adults that has developed in the family, the system of values, norms and rules. Therefore, parents should become a necessary link in the system of correctional developmental work with a child.

The main tasks of the work psychologist you can with your parents count:

- help in understanding and accepting child development;

Teach methods and techniques effective interaction and correction of the cognitive sphere in accordance with cultural level parents;

Familiarization with the directions and content of the program of work of specialists of a preschool educational institution.

It is necessary to start corrective work by studying parental settings, their relationship to the characteristics of their child. Important "stabilize" parenting style, help parents to deal adequately with the problems of their child. This need is due to frequent violations of the style of education along the line of hypo- or hyper-custody in families with a child with mental retardation. On the one hand, parents, considering their child seriously ill, begin to take care of him, limit him, and so undeveloped independence which further exacerbates the situation. On the other hand, parents do not notice or do not know the uniqueness of their child, they think that with age the situation will improve on its own. Such families are usually characterized by a low cultural level. The strategy of working with them and with the child will depend on the characteristics of the parents.

It is also necessary to remember that a full-fledged corrective effect is achieved by transferring positive changes from special classes to real life. everyday life child. And this is possible only when parents are aware of the positive dynamics and know the ways and methods of consolidating the developed skills. Therefore, the main focus of the work psychologist and parents will be placed on education.

Related publications:

Individual educational program for the development of a child of senior preschool age with mental retardation Introduction. The problem of mental retardation and learning difficulties is recognized as one of the most pressing psychological and pedagogical problems.

Psychological support of memory development in younger adolescents with mental retardation Psychological support is a system of professional activity of a teacher-psychologist, aimed at creating optimal conditions.

Children with mental retardation in preschool CHILDREN WITH MENTALLY RELATED IN PRESCHOOL What is mental retardation? ZPR belongs to the category of weakly expressed.

Characteristics of the diagnostic program for the development of memory in younger adolescents with mental retardation In order to study in detail the problem of memory development in young children adolescence with mental retardation in psychology.

Games for the development of attention of children of senior preschool age with mental retardation Games for the development of attention in older children preschool age with mental retardation. Attention is concentration of consciousness.

Abstract of an individual remedial lesson for a child aged 4–5 years with mental retardation Purpose: awakening the cognitive and creative activity of the child. Tasks: - consolidate knowledge about wild animals. - to develop the ability to correlate.

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Features of inclusive education of children with mental retardation Currently, the modern education system allows you to include every child in the educational space. The provisions of the Federal State Educational Standard are intended.

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In this study guide theoretical, methodological, methodological approaches to psychological assistance to children and adolescents with mental retardation are considered. The authors use a comprehensive clinical, psychological and pedagogical approach to the analysis of mental retardation, reveal the specifics of the psychological diagnosis of children, taking into account the clinical form of mental retardation and age features. The publication describes the main areas of psychological assistance to children and their parents, taking into account the form, severity of mental retardation, the characteristics of the social situation of children's development. Particular attention is paid to the problems of neuropsychological diagnosis and correction of children with mental retardation, the stages, the dynamics of psychological support for children and adolescents with mental retardation, and the specifics of the psychological correction of emotional disorders in children with mental retardation are revealed. The training manual presents psychocorrectional technologies and techniques used when working with children with mental retardation, as well as numerous clinical, psychological and pedagogical ...

This textbook discusses theoretical, methodological, methodological approaches to psychological assistance to children and adolescents with mental retardation. The authors use a comprehensive clinical, psychological and pedagogical approach to the analysis of mental retardation, reveal the specifics of the psychological diagnosis of children, taking into account the clinical form of mental retardation and age characteristics. The publication describes the main areas of psychological assistance to children and their parents, taking into account the form, severity of mental retardation, the characteristics of the social situation of children's development. Particular attention is paid to the problems of neuropsychological diagnosis and correction of children with mental retardation, the stages, the dynamics of psychological support for children and adolescents with mental retardation, and the specifics of the psychological correction of emotional disorders in children with mental retardation are revealed. The textbook presents psycho-corrective technologies and techniques used when working with children with mental retardation, as well as numerous clinical, psychological and pedagogical examples of the diagnosis and correction of children with mental retardation. various forms ZPR. The manual is recommended not only to students studying in the specialties of clinical and correctional psychology, but also to specialists in the field of age, children clinical psychology, as well as teachers-defectologists and parents of children with mental retardation.
2nd edition, revised and enlarged.

Impaired mental function(ZPR) - the tempo lag in the development of mental processes and the immaturity of the emotional-volitional sphere in children, which can potentially be overcome with the help of specially organized training and education. Mental retardation is characterized by an insufficient level of development of motor skills, speech, attention, memory, thinking, regulation and self-regulation of behavior, primitiveness and instability of emotions, and poor school performance. Diagnosis of mental retardation is carried out collegially by a commission consisting of medical specialists, teachers and psychologists. Children with mental retardation need specially organized correctional and developmental education and medical support.

General information

Mental retardation (MPD) is a reversible impairment of the intellectual and emotional-volitional sphere, accompanied by specific learning difficulties. The number of persons with mental retardation reaches 15-16% in the child population. ZPR is more of a psychological and pedagogical category, however, it may be based on organic disorders, therefore this condition is also considered by medical disciplines - primarily pediatrics and child neurology. Since the development of various mental functions in children is uneven, usually the conclusion "mental retardation" is established for preschool children no earlier than 4-5 years old, but in practice - more often in the process of schooling.

Causes of mental retardation (ZPR)

The etiological basis of ZPR is biological and socio-psychological factors leading to a tempo delay in the intellectual and emotional development of the child.

Biological factors (non-rough organic damage to the central nervous system of a local nature and their residual effects) cause a violation of the maturation of various parts of the brain, which is accompanied by partial disorders of the mental development and activity of the child. Among the causes of a biological nature, acting in the perinatal period and causing mental retardation, highest value have pathology of pregnancy (severe toxicosis, Rh conflict, fetal hypoxia, etc.), intrauterine infections, intracranial birth trauma, prematurity, nuclear jaundice of newborns, fetal alcohol syndrome, etc., leading to the so-called perinatal encephalopathy. In the postnatal period and early childhood mental retardation can be caused by severe somatic diseases of the child (hypotrophy, influenza, neuroinfections, rickets), traumatic brain injury, epilepsy and epileptic encephalopathy, etc. ZPR is sometimes hereditary in nature and in some families is diagnosed from generation to generation.

Mental retardation may occur under the influence of environmental (social) factors, which, however, does not exclude the presence of an initial organic basis for the disorder. Most often, children with mental retardation grow up in conditions of hypo-custody (neglect) or hyper-custody, authoritarian nature of education, social deprivation, lack of communication with peers and adults.

Secondary mental retardation can develop with early hearing and vision impairments, speech defects due to a pronounced deficit in sensory information and communication.

Classification of mental retardation (ZPR)

The group of children with mental retardation is heterogeneous. In special psychology, many classifications of mental retardation have been proposed. Consider the etiopathogenetic classification proposed by K. S. Lebedinskaya, which distinguishes 4 clinical types of mental retardation.

ZPR of constitutional genesis due to delayed maturation of the CNS. It is characterized by harmonic mental and psychophysical infantilism. In mental infantilism, the child behaves like a younger child; in psycho-physical infantilism, the emotional-volitional sphere suffers and physical development. Anthropometric data and behavior of such children do not correspond to chronological age. They are emotionally labile, spontaneous, characterized by an insufficient amount of attention and memory. Even in school age they have gambling interests.

ZPR of somatogenic genesis due to severe and prolonged somatic diseases of the child at an early age, which inevitably delay the maturation and development of the central nervous system. In the anamnesis of children with somatogenic mental retardation, bronchial asthma, chronic dyspepsia, cardiovascular and renal failure, pneumonia, etc. are often found. Usually, such children are treated in hospitals for a long time, which in addition also causes sensory deprivation. ZPR of somatogenic origin is manifested by asthenic syndrome, low performance of the child, less memory, superficial attention, poor development of activity skills, hyperactivity or lethargy in case of overwork.

ZPR of psychogenic origin due to unfavorable social conditions in which the child resides (neglect, overprotection, abuse). Lack of attention to the child forms mental instability, impulsiveness, lag in intellectual development. Increased care brings up in the child lack of initiative, egocentrism, lack of will, lack of purposefulness.

ZPR of cerebro-organic genesis occurs most frequently. It is caused by a primary non-rough organic lesion of the brain. In this case, violations can affect certain areas of the psyche or manifest themselves in a mosaic way in various mental areas. The mental retardation of cerebral-organic genesis is characterized by the lack of formation of the emotional-volitional sphere and cognitive activity: lack of liveliness and brightness of emotions, low level of claims, pronounced suggestibility, poverty of imagination, motor disinhibition, etc.

Characteristics of children with mental retardation (ZPR)

The personal sphere in children with mental retardation is characterized by emotional lability, slight mood swings, suggestibility, lack of initiative, lack of will, and immaturity of the personality as a whole. There may be affective reactions, aggressiveness, conflict, increased anxiety. Children with mental retardation are often closed, prefer to play alone, do not seek to contact their peers. The play activity of children with mental retardation is characterized by monotony and stereotyping, lack of a detailed plot, poverty of imagination, and non-compliance with game rules. Motility features include motor clumsiness, lack of coordination, often hyperkinesis and tics.

A feature of mental retardation is that compensation and reversibility of violations are possible only in conditions of special training and education.

Diagnosis of mental retardation (MPD)

Mental retardation in a child can only be diagnosed as a result of a comprehensive examination of the child by a psychological, medical and pedagogical commission (PMPC) consisting of a child psychologist, speech therapist, speech pathologist, pediatrician, pediatric neurologist, psychiatrist, etc. At the same time, an anamnesis is collected and studied, an analysis of the conditions life, neuropsychological testing, diagnostic examination of speech, study of the child's medical records. It is mandatory to conduct a conversation with the child, a study of intellectual processes and emotional-volitional qualities.

Based on information about the development of the child, members of the PMPK make a conclusion about the presence of mental retardation, give recommendations on the organization of the upbringing and education of the child in special educational institutions.

In order to identify the organic substrate of mental retardation, the child needs to be examined by medical specialists, primarily a pediatrician and a pediatric neurologist. Instrumental diagnostics may include EEG, CT and MRI of the child's brain, etc. Differential Diagnosis mental retardation should be carried out with oligophrenia and autism.

Correction of mental retardation (MPD)

Working with children with mental retardation requires a multidisciplinary approach and the active participation of pediatricians, pediatric neurologists, child psychologists, psychiatrists, speech therapists, defectologists. Correction of mental retardation should begin from preschool age and be carried out for a long time.

Children with mental retardation should attend specialized kindergartens (or groups), type VII schools or remedial classes general education schools. The peculiarities of teaching children with mental retardation include dosage educational material, reliance on visibility, multiple repetition, frequent change of activities, use of health-saving technologies.

When working with such children, special attention is paid to the development of cognitive processes (perception, attention, memory, thinking); emotional, sensory and motor spheres with the help of fairy tale therapy,. Correction of speech disorders in mental retardation is carried out by a speech therapist as part of individual and group sessions. Together with teachers, correctional work on teaching students with mental retardation is carried out by defectologists, psychologists, and social teachers.

Medical care for children with mental retardation includes drug therapy in accordance with the identified somatic and cerebro-organic disorders, physiotherapy, exercise therapy, massage, hydrotherapy.

Forecast and prevention of mental retardation (ZPR)

The lag in the rate of a child's mental development from age norms can and must be overcome. Children with mental retardation are trainable and, with properly organized corrective work, positive dynamics are observed in their development. With the help of teachers, they are able to acquire the knowledge, skills and abilities that their normally developing peers master on their own. After graduation, they can continue their education in vocational schools, colleges and even universities.

Prevention of mental retardation in a child involves careful planning of pregnancy, avoidance of adverse effects on the fetus, prevention of infectious and somatic diseases in young children, providing favorable conditions for education and development. If a child lags behind in psychomotor development, an immediate examination by specialists and the organization of corrective work are necessary.

In childhood, a slow rate of mental development is much more common than mental underdevelopment. Typically, mental retardation (MPD) is diagnosed in children by the end of preschool age or when they enter school. ZPR manifests itself:

a) in reducing the total stock of knowledge;

b) limited ideas; c) in a small intellectual focus.

In domestic psychopathology and psychiatry, the classification of mental retardation is based on the etiopathogenetic principle, when the form of mental retardation is determined by the cause of its occurrence. For example, V.V. Kovalev identifies four main forms of mental retardation. This is a dysontogenetic form, an encephalopathic form, ZPR due to the underdevelopment of analyzers (blindness, deafness, speech underdevelopment, etc.), a cultural form of ZPR due to early social deprivation, pedagogical neglect, etc.

In the works of K. S. Lebedinskaya, four main variants of the ZPR are distinguished:

constitutional origin;

Somatogenic origin;

Psychogenic origin;

Cerebro-organic genesis.

In the structure of a mental defect in children with mental retardation, the immaturity of the emotional-volitional sphere with mild intellectual impairments, as well as the slow development of intellectual processes, may come to the fore.

The clinical and psychological structure of each variant of mental retardation is distinguished by a peculiar ratio of intellectual and emotional-volitional disorders.

ZPR constitutional origin is observed in children with psychophysical infantilism. The term "infantilism" was introduced by the French neuropathologist E. Lasegue in 1864 to refer to the physical and mental signs characteristic of children that persist in some adults. The German psychiatrist G. Anton (1908) used the term "infantilism" in relation to children with mental retardation. In modern psychiatric literature, the term "mental infantilism" refers to personal immaturity.

The emotional sphere of children with psychophysical infantilism as if it is at an earlier stage of development, corresponding to the mental make-up of a child of an earlier age. Their emotions are distinguished by brightness and liveliness, there is a predominance of emotional reactions in behavior, game interests, increased suggestibility and insufficient independence. Children with psychophysical infantilism experience particular difficulties at the beginning of schooling. It is difficult for them to concentrate on a task for a long time, to sit in a lesson, to obey the rules of discipline.

Features of the emotional-volitional sphere in children with constitutional form of ZPR negatively affect the formation of dynamic characteristics of perception. In the studies of representatives of cognitive psychology, the correlation of methods of perception with the personal organization of a person has been proved. Insufficient focus, increased emotionality of children with psychophysical infantilism negatively affect the effectiveness of the perception of objects (Safadi, 1997).

The immaturity of the emotional-volitional sphere in children with psychophysical infantilism is manifested in the peculiarities of their intellectual insufficiency. They have a predominance of concrete-figurative thinking over abstract-logical. Studies have shown that they have a sufficient formation of mental operations, but uneven cognitive activity, which reduces the productivity of their intellectual activity (Lebedinsky, 1985). An important place in the structure of mental retardation in children with psychophysical infantilism is occupied by a pronounced exhaustion of attention, especially during intellectual stress (Safadi, 1997). In the process of playing activity, the productivity of their attention improves. This indicates the dependence of intellectual productivity on motivation in children with psychophysical infantilism.

In the structure of mental development in children With somatogenic form of mental retardation, as well as mri psychophysical infantilism, emotional immaturity is observed. If in psychophysical infantilism emotional immaturity is caused, as a rule, by the immaturity of the brain, then in the somatogenic form of mental retardation, emotional immaturity is most often caused by long-term chronic diseases that greatly inhibit development active forms of activity and contributes to the formation of such personal characteristics as timidity, timidity, self-doubt. Permanent asthenia observed in children in connection with long-term somatic ailments, to a large extent negatively affects mental performance. They have unstable attention, a decrease in memory, a violation of the dynamics of mental activity.

psychogenic origin is associated with unfavorable conditions for raising a child. Early mental and social deprivation, which is observed in most neglected children and orphans, contributes to a decrease in the volitional components of the personality and the development of impulsivity. Many children have a pronounced decrease in cognitive activity, which negatively affects intellectual productivity.

Psycho-traumatic conditions of upbringing contribute to the formation of such characterological features as timidity, timidity, and uncertainty. This is manifested in the child's lack of initiative, independence and has an extremely negative impact on the cognitive activity of the child or adolescent.

Impaired mental function cerebroorganic genesis most often occurs in childhood and is characterized by a greater severity of violations of higher cortical functions in comparison with other forms of mental retardation. The reason for this form of ZPR is an organic lesion of the central nervous system in the early stages of ontogeny. In Western literature, this form of mental retardation is described as "early childhood organic syndrome", "minimal brain dysfunction".

Intellectual insufficiency in this group is mainly associated with impaired intellectual activity and the prerequisites for intelligence, due to residual effects of organic brain damage due to brain infections and injuries.

The age-related dynamics of the mental development of children with mental retardation of cerebral-organic genesis is determined both by the severity of the CNS lesion and the time of occurrence of the defect. Most children have a slow rate of maturation of mental functions, but with mental retardation this is more pronounced.

Cerebral-organic insufficiency determines the structure of a mental defect and becomes apparent both in the violation of the emotional-volitional sphere and in the development of cognitive processes. In the studies of clinicians and psychologists, a complex hierarchy of the structure of cognitive impairments in mental retardation of cerebral-organic origin is emphasized. This is manifested in the deficiency of the "prerequisites" of the intellect, namely memory, attention, spatial gnosis and praxis, speech.

A number of authors note pronounced disturbances in the rate of perception in children with mental retardation of cerebral-organic origin. This can be seen in the slowness of the processes of receiving and processing sensory information (Shoshin, Peresleni, 1981, etc.) - In addition, the vast majority of children with a delay in cerebral-organic genesis have difficulties in the synthesis of perceived objects, which is due to impaired intersensory and sensorimotor integration and coordination ( Mamaychuk and Mendoza, 1989; Campbell, 1977; etc.).

Cerebral asthenia, which is present in mental retardation of cerebral-organic origin, manifests itself in increased fatigue, in the underdevelopment of the properties of attention and memory. In comparison with other forms of DRA, there is a pronounced underdevelopment of stability, accuracy and distribution (Khasan, 1997). Qualitative analysis showed a variety of memory disorders in children with mental retardation of cerebral-organic origin: increased inhibition of memory traces and internal interference, a decrease in memory volume and memorization speed (ibid.).

Neuropsychological studies of children with mental retardation of cerebral-organic origin allow a more differentiated approach to the analysis of the structure of the defect in their cognitive activity (Markovskaya, 1982; Lebedinsky, 1985; Mikadze, Korsakova, 1994; Mamaichuk, Simonova, 1997; Shipitsyna, 1997, etc.).

Neuropsychological analysis of gnostic-praxic functions in healthy children revealed the heterochrony of their development and variability of manifestations, which is due to their individual characteristics (Mamaichuk, 1992). In children with mental retardation with minor cerebro-organic brain damage, the defect is based on neurodynamic insufficiency, associated primarily with the exhaustion of mental functions. With pronounced organic damage to the brain, more severe neurodynamic disorders are traced, expressed in the inertia of mental processes. In addition, there is a primary deficiency of individual cortical and subcortical functions. In children, there is a certain partiality, mosaicity of violations of individual cortical functions (Markovsky, 1982).

In subsequent neuropsychological studies of underachieving junior schoolchildren, two reasons were identified for the insufficient formation of individual functional systems of the child's psyche (Mikadze, Korsakova, 1994). The first of them is designated by the authors as the “irregularity” of the child’s mental development (which means a deviation from normal development, uneven development of mental functions), which occurs due to the individual characteristics of the child’s ontogenesis, but is not associated with any pathology of the child’s brain or psyche. .

The second reason for academic failure is “minimal brain dysfunction”, in which there is a change in the functioning of individual brain structures or the brain as a whole. The authors have developed special methods of neuropsychological diagnostics and neuropsychological correction.

The study of the features of mental development in children with mental retardation must be approached differentially with the obligatory consideration of the form of delay, since violations of cognitive processes (attention, memory, thinking, speech, laraxis) manifest themselves differently in different forms.