Preschool education

The purpose of the textbook is to form a circle of basic concepts included in the topic of preschool education, to give an overview of the existing features of working with preschool children for future employees of this field of education. The history of the development of preschool pedagogy abroad and in our country is described in detail, the calendar of child development is given, the issues of the specifics of working with children with developmental disabilities are considered, recommendations are given on the organization of various activities within the framework of the work, and attention is paid to the issues of quality control of preschool education. It is addressed to students studying under the specialty program 44.02.01 "Preschool education".

The Relationship Between Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth Among the Primary Caregivers of Children With Developmental Disabilities: The Mediating Role of Positive Coping Style and Self-Efficacy

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between posttraumatic growth (PTG), resilience, positive coping style, and self-efficacy among the primary caregivers of children with developmental disorders in Chongqing, China. A total of 198 primary caregivers (parents and grandparents) aged from 22 to 66 years old (M = 35.55, SD = 9.16), including 155 females (78.3%) and 43 males (21.7%), were enrolled. The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10, Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire, and General Self-Efficacy Scale were used for data collection. The results found that PTG could be positively predicted by resilience. Positive coping style and self-efficacy mediated the relationship between resilience and PTG. The different levels of PTG were determined by the resident location, monthly income and education of the primary caregivers. The results suggest that it is critical to improve the mental health of the primary caregivers (parents and grandparents) of children with developmental disabilities. Our results also provide a scientific basis for future research.

Health promotion for immigrant mothers of children with developmental disabilities: Towards a transformative approach

Background: High societal expectations that involve idealized and labour-intensive mothering are a source of stress, anxiety, guilt and frustration for women. Immigrant mothers caring for children with developmental disabilities are disproportionately burdened with health inequities. Study goals: The overall goal of our study was to examine health promotion practices of immigrant mothers with children with developmental disabilities using the Health Promotion Activities Scale (HPAS). Methods: Twenty-eight mothers of children with developmental disabilities were interviewed using the HPAS. A grounded theory approach was utilized to analyze the qualitative data. Results: Immigrant mothers of children with developmental disabilities’ engagement in health promoting activities is influenced by their role as primary caregivers, the gendered nature of mothering, non-Western views on health promotion, mothers’ burden from inequities and structural barriers pertaining to funding, disability, and migration status. The responses on the HPAS also underscore motherhood as a social construct with embedded assumptions and social expectations related to role and responsibilities that requires them to be “good” mothers. Discussion and Conclusion: There is need to incorporate transformative health promotion approaches in research and practice that consider mothers’ multicultural contexts. The intersections of motherhood, disability, gendered role expectations and migration need to be taken into account.

The child with developmental disabilities: The effects on the whole family. What do the families really need from the ‘early intervention’ professional system?

This paper is based on the premise that the current services delivered to children with developmental disabilities and their families in Wales are in need of revision in order to fully support the families to then be able to support their children. Currently services use a medically dominated approach in trying to ‘fix’ these disabled children and are lacking regard for the emotional and psychological impact on the families. The author comes from a position of having worked with these families as a clinical psychologist for over 20 years and shares with the reader things that her lived experiences tell her matter to these families and what families have said matters. There are ‘extra’ demands of looking after a child with developmental needs and in managing oneself in relation to a complex set of professional demands (services). In relation to this, there are a complex array of emotional experiences and dilemmas that parents are often fluctuating between. Six key themes have been developed which potentially form a model to think about some of the dynamics for families in these situations; Denial v acceptance, Guilt v forgiveness, isolation v support, fear v courage and anxious thinking v reimagining the family story. This paper provides the reader with a practical and strength-based model for service delivery to support children with developmental disabilities and their families. The new model of care is about helping families ‘to come to terms with’ a condition that cannot be cured. The new vision is about adaptation, re-framing or seeing from a different perspective, that is, a ‘fulfillment in new dreaming’. Families must adjust physically, psychologically and practically to living with limitations which can be severe and uncertain at times and may not be resolved. Two main principles that should be followed: 1. Caring about what matters. That is to say addressing a child’s developmental disabilities within the broad context of the child and family’s lives. Parents need space to acknowledge and process their feelings without judgement, with professionals and peers who have ‘good’ understanding and empathy. 2. We the people. Health care should become the work of we the people not we the professionals serving the rest of the people. At the heart of it is the orientating ideal that captures what the work is about – well-being of families. The principles of the model being to engage a resource that is largely untapped in our strained healthcare system: the knowledge, wisdom and energy of individuals, families and communities who have a child with developmental disabilities/learning disabilities in their everyday lives. These families are no longer simply consumers of services who respond to requests to ‘fix’ disabled children. The author describes what she is doing to develop services including the development of Early Positive Approaches to support (EPAtS). The author also considers some issues that get in the way of developing this new practice smoothly. Summary A new way of looking at and considering what is important in the professional system supporting children with developmental disabilities and their families.

Humanization Trends Pertaining to the Correction and Physical Rehabilitation of Children with Developmental Disabilities

В статье рассматриваются тенденции гуманизации в специальной педагогике и психологии, физической реабилитации детей с нарушениями развития. По мнению авторов, в силу социокультурных и исторических предпосылок в России тенденция гуманизации процесса их физической реабилитации только зарождается в исторической перспективе, но является неизбежной и будет развиваться. Цель исследования состояла в изучении этих тенденций для их последующей аппроксимации в процессе физической реабилитации детей с нарушениями развития. Актуальность рассматриваемой в статье проблемы обусловлена необходимостью учета во время проведения реабилитационных мероприятий неоднородного психоэмоционального состояния детей с нарушениями развития и широкого спектра последствий, включая психотравмы и физические увечья детей и травмирующие переживания родителей. Рассмотрение методик работы с детьми, имеющими нарушения в развитии, проходило через систему координат, которая базируется на философской антитезе целей и средств. Эта антитеза позволяет более структурно представить учет психоэмоционального состояния в процессе реабилитационных мероприятий и потенциальную пользу, что составляет научную новизну работы. The article deals with humanization trends in special pedagogy and psychology pertaining to the physical rehabilitation of children with developmental disabilities. The authors maintain that in Russia due to sociocultural and historical prerequisites, humanization trends pertaining to the physical rehabilitation of children with developmental disabilities are a recent phenomenon which will undoubtedly provide stimulus for new developments. The aim of the research is to investigate the humanization trends and their relation to the physical rehabilitation of children with developmental disorders. The relevance of the investigated issue is accounted for by the fact that during rehabilitation procedures it is necessary to take into account the emotional instability of disabled children resulting in psychological trauma and physical impairments in children and depression and anxiety in parents. The rehabilitation procedures for children with developmental disabilities should be viewed in relationship to the means and the end goals. Relying on the antithetical principle of means and ends, one can better monitor disabled children’s emotional state, promote their physical rehabilitation, which accounts for the novelty of the research.