Conceptual frame and content of extracurricular activities conducted by intellectual disability specialists at primary schools

Abstract

The main prerequisites of a successful specialist treatment of children with intellectual disability are knowledge of the dynamics of ability development, assessment of a child's achieved developmental level and how it affects the child's everyday functioning. The aim of this paper is to systematically present a conceptual frame, program, and content of extracurricular activities conducted by intellectual disability specialists who work with children with intellectual disability at primary schools. It includes the goals, outcomes, contents, ways of implementing and evaluating the work program of intellectual disability specialists at primary schools in the fields of cognitive abilities, adaptive skills, non-verbal communication, and application of psychomotor reeducation. The application of specific fields and treatment procedure depend on age, strengths and weaknesses of every child, and environmental requirements. For a treatment to serve its purpose, it is necessary that all its contents be adapted to circumstances, expectations, and functional barriers of the natural surroundings, and applicable to the process of education, training, interpersonal communication and other contents of everyday life.

Osnovni preduslovi uspešnosti oligofrenološkog tretmana dece sa teškoćama u mentalnom razvoju su poznavanje dinamike razvoja sposobnosti, procena dostignutog nivoa razvoja deteta i načina na koji se on odražava na njegovo svakodnevno funkcionisanje. Cilj ovog rada je da se sistematski prikažu konceptualni okvir, program i sadržaji vannastavnih aktivnosti oligofrenologa sa decom koja imaju teškoće u mentalnom razvoju u osnovnoj školi. Obuhvaćeni su ciljevi, ishodi, sadržaji, način ostvarivanja i način evaluacije programa rada oligofrenologa u osnovnoj školi u oblastima tretmana kognitivnih sposobnosti, adaptivnih veština, neverbalne komunikacije i primene reedukacije psihomotorike. Primena specifičnih oblasti i procedura tretmana uslovljena je uzrastom, potencijalima i ograničenjima svakog deteta i zahtevima njegovog okruženja. Da bi tretman ispunio svoju svrhu, neophodno je da njegovi sadržaji budu prilagođeni okolnostima, očekivanjima i funkcionalim barijerama prirodnog okruženja, primenljivi u procesu edukacije, obuke, interpersonalne komunikacije i drugih sadržaja svakodnevnog života.