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MODERN LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AS AN ELEMENT OF SOCIAL INTEGRATION OF CHILDREN WITH MENTAL DEVELOPMENT DELAY // Pedagogical Review. 2021. Issue 1 (35). P. 130-136

The quantitative growth of children with disabilities progresses every year. Approximately 15 % of the total number of students have certain health limitations, including disabilities. This is due to both biologizing (genetic predisposition) and sociologizing (pedagogical neglect) factors. Children with disabilities often tend to be isolated from society. This is facilitated by being in special schools and institutions separate from healthy children, where they receive not only upbringing, but also education. Despite the fact that at present the situation has partially changed, more and more parents prefer to send their “special” children to general education institutions, children with disabilities are still poorly involved in the normal process of life of the school community. A delay in the mental development of the child’s personality causes disorders in the field of communication and cognition, and can lead to deformation of their social and domestic skills and emotional-volitional sphere. A child with mental retardation often exhibits such emotional states as feelings of fear, resentment, shame, and there are unreasonable bouts of anger. At the same time, the self-esteem of this category of children is also distorted. All these factors can contribute to the emergence of pathological forms of behavior. Nevertheless, the process of social integration (adaptation) of children with disabilities, specifically those with mental retardation is extremely necessary. And the most suitable social environment for this is the general educational environment, as well as centers for social adaptation and additional education.

Keywords: social inclusion, children with mental health delay, general educational environment, inclusive education