Special Educational Needs is a term that has recently appeared in modern society. Abroad, he entered into mass use earlier. The emergence and spread of the concept of special educational needs (SEN) suggests that society is gradually maturing and is trying in every possible way to help children whose life opportunities are limited, as well as those who, by the will of circumstances, find themselves in a difficult life situation. Society begins to help such children adapt to life.
A child with special educational needs is no longer the one who has anomalies and developmental disorders. Society is moving away from dividing children into “normal” and “abnormal”, since there are very ghostly boundaries between these concepts. Even with the most ordinary abilities, a child may experience a developmental delay if he is not given due attention from parents and society.
The essence of the concept of children with OOP
Special educational needs is a concept that shouldgradually oust such terms as “abnormal development”, “developmental disorders”, “developmental deviations” from mass use. It does not determine the normality of the child, but focuses on the fact that he is not very different from the rest of society, but has the need to create special conditions for his education. This will make his life more comfortable and as close as possible to that which ordinary people lead. In particular, the education of such children should be carried out with the help of specific means.
Note that "children with special educational needs" is not only a name for those who suffer from mental and physical disabilities, but also for those who do not. For example, when the need for special education arises under the influence of any sociocultural factors.
Term Borrowing
Special educational needs is a concept that was first used in a London report in 1978 on the educational problems and learning difficulties of children with disabilities. Gradually, it began to be used more and more. Currently, this term has become part of the educational system in European countries. It is also widely distributed in the US and Canada.
In Russia, the concept appeared later, but it cannot be argued that its meaning is just a copy of the Western term.
Groups of children with SEN
The contingent of children with SEN, modern science divides into three groups:
- scharacteristic disability for he alth reasons;
- experiencing learning difficulties;
- those living in adverse conditions.
That is, in modern defectology, the term has the following meaning: special educational needs are the conditions for the development of a child who needs detours in order to achieve those tasks of cultural development that, under normal conditions, are performed in standard ways that are rooted in modern culture.
Categories of children with special mental and physical development
Each child with SEN has its own characteristics. On this basis, children can be divided into the following groups:
- who are characterized by hearing impairments (complete or partial hearing loss);
- with problem vision (complete or partial lack of vision);
- with intellectual anomalies (those with mental retardation);
- who have impaired speech;
- having problems with the musculoskeletal system;
- with a complex structure of disorders (deaf-blind, etc.);
- autistic;
- children with emotional and volitional disorders.
OOP common to different categories of children
Specialists single out OOP, which are common to children, despite the difference in their problems. These include needs of this kind:
- Education of children with special educational needs should start immediatelyas soon as disturbances in normal development were detected. This will allow you not to lose time and achieve maximum results.
- Using specific tools to deliver learning.
- Special sections that are not present in the standard school curriculum should be introduced into the curriculum.
- Differentiation and individualization of learning.
- The opportunity to maximize the educational process outside the institution.
- Extension of the learning process after graduation. Enabling young people to go to university.
- Participation of qualified specialists (doctors, psychologists, etc.) in teaching a child with problems, involvement of parents in the educational process.
Common deficiencies observed in the development of children with SEN
Students with special educational needs share a common characteristic handicap. These include:
- Lack of knowledge about the environment, narrow outlook.
- Problems with gross and fine motor skills.
- Retarded speech development.
- Difficulty in arbitrarily adjusting behavior.
- Uncommunicative.
- Problems with cognitive activity.
- Pessimism.
- Inability to behave in society and control one's own behavior.
- Low or too high self-esteem.
- Uncertainty in one's abilities.
- Full or partial dependence on others.
Actions to overcome common shortcomings of children with SEN
Working with children with special educational needs aims to address these common shortcomings using specific methods. To do this, some changes are made to the standard general education subjects of the school curriculum. For example, the introduction of propaedeutic courses, that is, introductory, concise, facilitating the understanding of the child. This method helps to restore the missing segments of knowledge about the environment. Additional items can be introduced to help improve general and fine motor skills: physiotherapy exercises, creative circles, modeling. In addition, all kinds of trainings can be conducted to help children with SEN become aware of themselves as full-fledged members of society, increase self-esteem and gain confidence in themselves and their abilities.
Specific deficiencies characteristic of the development of children with SEN
Working with children with special educational needs, in addition to solving common problems, should also include solving issues arising from their specific disabilities. This is an important aspect of educational work. Specific deficiencies include those due to damage to the nervous system. For example, hearing and vision problems.
Methods of teaching children with special educational needs take these shortcomings into account when developing programs and plans. In the training program, specialists include specific subjects that are not includedinto the regular school system. So, children with vision problems are additionally taught orientation in space, and in the presence of hearing impairment they help to develop residual hearing. The program for their education also includes lessons on the formation of oral speech.
Problems of teaching children with SEN
- Organization of the educational system in such a way as to maximize the desire of children to explore the world, to form their practical knowledge and skills, to broaden their horizons.
- Differentiated education for children with special educational needs in order to identify and develop the abilities and inclinations of students.
- Incentives for independent action and decision making.
- Formation and activation of students' cognitive activity.
- Laying the foundations of the scientific worldview.
- Ensuring the comprehensive development of a self-sufficient individual who could adapt to the existing society.
Learning functions
Individualized education for children with special educational needs is designed to perform the following functions:
- Developing. This function assumes that the learning process is aimed at developing a full-fledged personality, which is facilitated by the acquisition of relevant knowledge and skills by children.
- Educational. An equally important function. The education of children with special educational needs contributes to the formation of their basic knowledge, which will be the basis of the information fund. There is also an objectivethe need to develop practical skills that will help them in the future and make their lives much easier.
- Educational. The function is aimed at the formation of a comprehensive and harmonious development of the individual. For this purpose, students are taught literature, art, history, physical education.
- Correctional. This function involves influencing children through special methods and techniques that stimulate cognitive abilities.
Structure of the correctional pedagogical process
The development of children with special educational needs includes the following components:
- Diagnostic-monitoring. The work on diagnostics is one of the most important in teaching children with SEN. She plays a leading role in the correctional process. It is an indicator of the effectiveness of all activities for the development of children with SEN. It involves researching the characteristics and needs of each student who needs help. Based on this, a program is developed, group or individual. Also of great importance is the study of the dynamics with which a child develops in the process of studying in a special school according to a special program, evaluating the effectiveness of the educational plan.
- Physical and he alth-improving. Since most children with SEN have physical disabilities, this component of the development process of students is extremely important. It includes physiotherapy exercises for children, which helps them learn how to control their body in space, work out the clarity of movements,bring some actions to automatism.
- Educational and educational. This component contributes to the formation of comprehensively developed personalities. As a result, children with SEN, who until recently could not normally exist in the world, become harmoniously developed. In addition, in the learning process, much attention is paid to the process of educating full-fledged members of modern society.
- Correctional-developing. This component is aimed at the development of a full-fledged personality. It is based on the organized activities of children with SEN, aimed at obtaining the knowledge necessary for a full life, assimilation of historical experience. That is, the learning process should be based in such a way as to maximize the desire for knowledge of students. This will help them catch up with their peers who do not have developmental disabilities.
- Socio-pedagogical. It is this component that completes the formation of a full-fledged personality, ready for independent existence in modern society.
The need for individualized education for a child with SEN
For children with SEN, two forms of organizing learning can be used: collective and individual. Their effectiveness depends on each individual case. Collective education takes place in special schools, where special conditions are created for such children. When communicating with peers, a child with developmental problems begins to actively develop and, in some cases,achieves greater results than some completely he althy children. At the same time, an individual form of education is necessary for a child in the following situations:
- He is characterized by the presence of multiple developmental disorders. For example, in the case of a severe form of mental retardation or when teaching children with simultaneous hearing and visual impairments.
- When a child has specific developmental disabilities.
- Age features. Individual training at an early age gives good results.
- When teaching a child at home.
However, in fact, individual education for children with SEN is highly undesirable, as it leads to the formation of a closed and insecure personality. In the future, this entails problems in communicating with peers and other people. With collective learning, communication skills are revealed in most children. As a result, full-fledged members of society are formed.
Thus, the appearance of the term "special educational needs" speaks of the maturation of our society. Since this concept translates a child with disabilities and developmental anomalies into the category of normal, full-fledged personalities. Teaching children with SEN is aimed at broadening their horizons and forming their own opinions, teaching them the skills and abilities that they need to lead a normal and fulfilling life in modern society.
In fact special educational needscalled needs that are different from those offered to all children within the framework of comprehensive schools. The wider the opportunities to satisfy them, the higher the child's chance to get the maximum level of development and the support he needs at a difficult stage of growing up.
The quality of the education system for children with SEN is determined by an individual approach to each student, since each "special" child is characterized by the presence of his own problem, which prevents him from leading a full life. And often this problem can be solved, albeit not completely.
The main goal of teaching children with SEN is to introduce previously isolated individuals into society, as well as to achieve the maximum level of education and development for each child who is included in this category, to activate his desire to know the world around him. It is extremely important to form and develop full-fledged personalities from them, who will become an integral part of the new society.
