Lecture 24. The thinking of children with developmental disabilities.

The general concept of thinking

Thinking - the process of human cognitive activity, characterized by a generalized and indirect reflection of the external world and internal experiences. The purpose of thinking is the adaptation to the new conditions at the behavioral level, and new challenges.

The processes of thought are reduced to the formation:

general ideas and concepts;

judgments and conclusions.

The form of thinking is verbal and logical (abstract), emotional (estimated), practical and so on. D. The essence of thinking is a mental simulation of the person of different events. Thinking enables us to understand the laws of the material world, connections and relationships, which are things and events, cause-and-effect relationship in the socio-historical events, the laws of the human psyche. Thinking is a generalized nature, dealing with the general and essential features of objects. Thinking makes it possible to know and to judge that the person is not directly observable, does not perceive. It allows you to predict the course of events, the results of operations in future.

The process of thinking begins with the emerging needs (desire, desire) to answer a particular question, solve a problem, get out of a difficulty. The more people know, the richer his horizon, the more there is in it of new issues, the activity and independence of his thought.

Thus, the thinking - it is socially conditioned, is inextricably linked to speech mental process of search and discovery of essentially new process mediated and generalized reflection of reality in the course of its analysis and synthesis. Thinking arises on the basis of practical activities of sensory perception, and goes far beyond it.

Features of development of thinking of mentally retarded children

Problems thinking mentally retarded children lie primarily in the properties of the nervous processes in these children. The weakness of the functions of the cerebral cortex leads to the slow rate of formation of new conditioned connections, as well as the fragility of their problems as a result of the process of thinking, the problem starts with the need to understand something and learn to explain and have the most problematic stage of analysis and synthesis of phenomena.

For thinking mentally retarded children is characterized by:

violation of all mental operations (mostly generalization and abstraction);

reduction in the activity of thought processes;

the most well preserved kind of thinking - visual-effective;

unawareness and chaotic action in the decision;

uncritical thinking;

weak regulatory role of thinking;

low motivation of mental activity.

Thinking is the main instrument of knowledge. It takes the form of activities such as analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization, abstraction, concretization.

Analysis of these children is characterized by a lack of completeness and accuracy, unsystematic and inconsistent, chaotic. In the analysis of the object they emit only a few, well familiar to them, the most notable part of the object, do not seek to make a detailed analysis, passed a number of important properties. Due to imperfect analysis difficult synthesis items. Separating items in their separate parts or properties, they do not establish the connection between them, therefore, find it difficult to get an idea about the subject in general. Pronounced specific features of thinking in mentally retarded children in comparison operations. Not being able to distinguish the main thing in the objects and phenomena, they conduct a comparison of the unessential and often - on nesootnosimym (eg a single object color and shape of the other). When comparing more successfully isolated signs of differences than similarities.

In the most affected this mental operation, as a generalization. In mentally retarded children, it is also based on the allocation of non-essential secondary properties of objects. In generalizing these children rely on external visual properties, functional or situational characteristics. Children on their own do not generalize their experience of everyday actions with objects, instruments that have a fixed appointment. Therefore, they do not step understanding of the situation requires the use of a fixed (conventional) weapons. In cases where children with an adult employed aids they are not generalize their own experience the action and can not use it for solving new tasks, ie. E. They do not transfer the mode of action.

The development of different kinds of thinking peculiar compared with the norm. Most violations are verbal and logical thinking, and the most intact - visual-active. Moreover, solving a particular problem, they resorted mainly to the method of trial and error, repeated tests in unmodified form and, accordingly, all the time getting the same incorrect result. Children with developmental disabilities, as opposed to the normally developing peers do not know how to navigate in a troubled practical problem, they do not analyze these conditions. Therefore, when trying to achieve a goal, they do not cast the wrong options, and repeating the same unproductive activities. In fact, they do not have the original sample. They are difficult to solve even the simplest practical and effective problems, such as the union cut into 2 - 3 pieces of images of familiar objects, the choice of a geometric figure, in its shape and size identical to the corresponding, on the flat surface of the deepening ("mailbox"), etc.. It must be said that the implementation of practical actions in itself makes it difficult to mentally retarded children. Their movements are awkward and stereotyped, often impulsive, overly fast or, conversely, is too slow.

The children observed a small dynamic images and their fragmentation. A distinctive feature of the thinking of the mentally retarded is uncritical, inability to self-assess their work. They usually do not conduct testing solutions jobs often do not notice their mistakes.

In solving the problems of mental notes is not enough orientation of lack of planning. Mentally retarded children usually start work without hearing the instructions, did not understand the task goal, without an internal action plan with a weak self-control. Motivation thinking they lowered: attract light tasks that do not require mental stress and overcome obstacles.

In addition, the problem children are different speech inclusion in the process of solving intellectual problems. In normally developing children there is a continuing need to help yourself understand the situation by analyzing their actions in the foreign language. This enables them to awareness of their actions, in which it begins to perform organizing and regulating function, ie. E. Allows the child to plan their actions.

In mentally retarded children need this almost does not occur. So they drew the attention of the lack of connection between the practical actions and verbal designation marked a clear gap between action and word. Therefore, their actions lack of awareness, action experience is not recorded in the word, and is therefore not summarized, and representations of the images are formed slowly and in fragments.

For children with disabilities there is a weak correlation between the development of the main components of mental activity: action, word and image.

conclusion

Thinking as a separate mental process does not exist, it is invisibly present in all other cognitive processes.

Thinking - is a special kind of theoretical and practical activities, assuming the system included in its activities and operations roughly Research, conversion and cognitive nature. Timely formation of visual forms of thinking qualitatively alters the development of cognitive activity of troubled children and is an essential link in the preparation of their learning and socialization.

A system of exercises, games, activities aimed at the development of children with developmental disabilities. Perhaps the improvement of thinking of mentally retarded children with proper construction of the learning process with the support of his party have stored.

Conduct systematic studies on the development of mental activity will form in children with developmental disabilities the relationship between visual and verbal-logical forms of thinking.

For further effective learning it is necessary to lay the basis for a complete visual-motor and visual-figurative thinking. In the development of visual-motor and spatial visualization ability, the conditions for the formation of reproductive imagination (the child an opportunity to mentally reproduce the visual situation on the basis of the word). This is especially important for children who are brought up in a orphanage, t. To. Their development should be given much more attention.

Long-term studies show the importance of the training of correctional mentally retarded children and the positive changes their mental activity, the development of personal qualities, their socialization.