DEVELOPMENT OF COORDINATION ABILITIES
PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN
WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES BY MEANS OF TABLE TENNIS
Podkarytova Angelika Evgenyevna
3rd year student, Belgorod State National Research University, R.F., Belgorod
Alexander V. Markov
Scientific supervisor,senior lecturer, Belgorod State National Research University, R.F., Belgorod
Annotation. This article examines the problem of using the sport of table tennis to develop coordination abilities of children 10 - 11 years old with intellectual disabilities. Particular attention is paid to the classification of intellectual disabilities and their consequences in the physical development of the child.
Key words: coordination abilities, mental retardation, intellectual disability, motor actions, physical development
The main goal of the project is to develop the ability to perform the activities of a person with mental retardation.
The prevalence of mental retardation in various countries at the end of the 20th century, according to the World Health Organization, was 1 - 3%. The same figures (0.39% to 2.7%) are reported in different countries today. According to different data, the percentage of mentally retarded people with impairments ranges from 68.9% to 88.9%. Statistics show that of all disabilities, mental retardation is the most common. According to the General Directorate of Rehabilitation Services and Special Education of the Russian Federation, of the 600,000 total number of students with developmental disabilities, 60% are mentally retarded.
According to research by Shapkova L.V., the term 'mental retardation' refers to persistent, pronounced impairment of cognitive activity due to organic damage to the CNS. This category of children has neuro-psychological underdevelopment due to irreversible brain damage. For ethical reasons, the following definitions are used for this category of children: "intellectual disability", "mental retardation", "mental deficit", and "mental deficiency", "intellectual disability". The degree of mental retardation is now defined by the intellectual quotient (the ratio of mental age to passport age). The International Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders (ICD-10) adopts the conventional LQ: mental normality -LQ 70 -100, mild mental retardation LQ is 50 -69, moderate mental retardation LQ -35 -49, severe mental retardation LQ -20 -34 and profound mental retardation LQ -19 and below.
The education and upbringing of children with mild and moderate mental retardation takes place in special (correctional) educational establishments or in special classes in educational schools. The problem of providing special assistance to these children is very relevant.
The aim of the work is to identify the development of coordination abilities of primary school age children with intellectual disabilities using the game of table tennis.
Numerous studies by Balsevich V.K., V.I. Zhulepov, O.V. Bulgakov, A.I. Glotov, etc. indicate that students with intellectual disabilities are inferior to normally developing children in motor performance. One of the important components of human motor abilities is coordination abilities. In scientific and methodological literature, there are many variants of definition of "coordination of movements" and "coordination abilities", but so far there is no consensus on this issue. According to N.A. Bernstein's definition, coordination of movement is the determination of excess degrees of freedom of the moving organ. Balsevich V.K. is of the opinion that in the theory and practice of physical education many authors use the terms "coordination abilities" and "coordination of movements" as identical. According to Godik, the coordination abilities of a human being ensure not only the quality of movements and motor actions, but also create favourable preconditions for maximal realization of physical qualities: strength, flexibility, endurance, agility and quickness.
The natural basis of coordination abilities is anatomical and physiological predispositions. Namely, properties of the nervous system, natural properties of sensory systems (muscular-motor, visual and auditory sensations), the level of development and correlation of signaling systems, development of individual CNS levels (according to N.A. Bernstein), which condition manifestation of coordination abilities in solving different motor tasks. In general, coordination abilities are manifested in the correctness, speed, rationality and resourcefulness of performed movements and actions. According to evaluation criteria, peculiarities of manifestation and factors determining them, coordination abilities can be divided into types. In particular, A.A. Guzhalovsky suggests distinguishing between general coordination abilities and specific ones manifested in particular motor exercises. In the opinion of
S.D. Boychenko, it is reasonable to subdivide coordination abilities into simple, complex and supercomplex in relation to conditions of sports activity.
In his work, V.I. Lyakh singles out the following coordination abilities: special, general and specific. He also offers a classification that includes the following abilities: balance, orientation in space, ability to differentiate and time parameters of movements, speed of restructuring of motor activity, simple and complex reactions, statokinetic stability. Summarizing the above approaches to the classification of coordination abilities, it can be concluded that most authors distinguish the following types: 1) kinesthetic sensitivity, by which specialists understand the ability to differentiate or differentiate between the parameters of space, force and time of movement; 2) the ability to react quickly, manifested in the speed of response to a stimulus; 3) the ability to balance, manifested in the rapid solution of motor tasks on a limited area of support; 4) the ability to orientate, manifested in precise definition and change of body in the spatial and temporal field. In our study, we will be guided by the above classification of coordination abilities.
The main attention in the work is paid to the development of certain types of coordination abilities of children with mental retardation, which play a leading role in competitive activities in table tennis. In order to achieve this goal we conducted a pedagogical experiment on the basis of MBOU school №17 of Abakan. Abakan with the adapted educational programs, 10 - 11 years old pupils were involved in it. Two groups of 12 boys with the same degree of mental retardation (mild and moderate) participated in the experiment. During the school year, the control group studied according to the curriculum twice a week for 45 minutes at the general physical training club. The experimental group had the same amount of activities at the table tennis club. The main aims of the club were to cultivate interest in table tennis, to teach how to hold a racket and juggle a ball correctly, to strengthen muscles of the arms, legs and trunk, to develop coordination of movements and ability to orientate in space as well as to quickly reorganize motor activity. We paid special attention to planning the content of the lesson and the sequence of teaching technical elements and game techniques. We started teaching technique from initial positions (right, left and neutral posts) which depended on the child's height, reaction rate, coordination of movements and individuality. Ways of holding a racket were studied starting with a horizontal grip (its advantage is that it makes it possible to play both on the right and on the left side without significant movements near the table), and then a vertical grip was taught. The first method increases hand mobility, develops coordination and reduces the impact force. The other one constrains the hand and the punch is stronger (it develops the speed and strength abilities), but the technical possibilities are limited. A rapid change of playing situations requires a player to change the initial position when receiving the ball: steps, jumps, jerks and their varieties, which are used, using didactic principles of teaching "from easy to difficult", "from simple to complex". Techniques are specific positions and movements of a player and are complex in composition and structure movements used in continuously changing conditions of the game: serve, trim, roll, cut, strike, candle, topspin, topspin. They all differ in direction, strength of delivery, height and length of the ball trajectory and arm movement and speed of movement. Techniques differ in spatial, spatial-temporal, dynamic and other movement parameters. Therefore, the study and refinement of these techniques contributes to the development of spatial orientation, differentiation and temporal parameters of movements, quickness of movement rearrangement and statokinetic stability, which are based on anatomical and physiological predispositions.
In order to teach techniques we made 10 sets of exercises, which were applied in a certain sequence, with an alternation of play techniques and tactical actions, solutions to the set motor tasks (attacking, counterattacking, preparatory), as well as ways of playing the game (one-sided, two-sided). Each set of exercises included varieties of playing tasks: initial positions, ways of holding a racket, types of movements, technical tricks, tactical actions.
To control and analyse the development of coordination abilities we chose tests according to the principle of reliability and accessibility. Test 1: Reaction ability was evaluated by reaction time to a moving object. According to S.A. Dumashin's method the test "Catching a ruler" was applied in which the reaction time of grasping a vertically falling object out of three attempts was determined and the arithmetic mean was calculated. Test 2. The kinesthetic ability was assessed using the Chip Transfer Test. The test was carried out as follows: Chips of different sizes (10 mm, 15 mm, 20 mm) were placed in a plastic box (15 x 20 cm). There are 10 of each size. The test person should transfer these chips to another box standing next to them. The time of shifting chips of each size is taken into account. The test was carried out with master hand only. Test 3. The ability to maintain equilibrium in motion (dynamic balance) was evaluated by time passing with maximum speed on a gymnastic bench, arms out to the side. The time of passage was recorded. The task was performed three times, determining the average result. Test 4. Orientation ability was assessed by performing the "Throw to Goal" test. Test pattern: a cardboard target was placed on the wall at a distance of 150 cm from the floor. It consists of colourful squares of 60, 30 and 10 cm, which are stacked on top of each other. At a distance of 300 cm from the wall the throw line is marked. The throw is made with a dart. The test is carried out in 2 series, each series giving 5 attempts, the smallest square being awarded 3 points, the middle one 2 points, the biggest one 1 point and the miss 0 points. The result is the sum of the points from the 10 shots.
As a result of the testing conducted at the beginning and the end of the pedagogical experiment, we obtained the following results. The analysis of the results of the "Catching the Ruler" test, which reflects the level of responsive ability, showed that the subjects of the EG. significantly improved their performance in this test compared to the subjects of the CG. The growth rate in the EG was 18.6% and in the CG. -9,7%. The growth rates of general kinaesthetic ability (transposing chips with a size of 20 mm) showed that the level of general kinaesthetic ability in the EG improved more than in the CG. The rate of decrease in the large-sized (20 mm) chip-transfer mode was 11.5% in the EG and 3.1% in the CG.
In the medium-sized (15 mm) chip shuffling test, the EG showed a higher rate of increase, with an 11.6% increase, while the CG showed a 6.1% increase. Time spent on moving small-sized chips (10 mm) decreased in the experimental group by 13.8%, and in the control group by 6%.
The analysis of the results obtained for the preservation of balance in movement showed that students in the EG significantly improved their performance. The gain in the EG results was 16.2%, and in the CG - 8.5%. Analysing the results of the "Throwing at a target" test, it should be noted that both in the EG (35.3%) and CG (16.6%) the basic spatial orientation abilities have increased, but in the experimental group these indicators are higher than in the control group.
Having analyzed the results obtained, we can conclude that despite the fact that children with intellectual disabilities have neuro-psychic underdevelopment due to irreversible brain damage, this does not mean that they are not amenable to correction. The gradualness and accessibility of the used physical exercises, techniques and tactical actions in table tennis create preconditions for the most productive mastering of various motor actions by mentally retarded children as well as have a beneficial effect on the development of physical qualities and coordination of movements of primary school children. The results of the pedagogical experiment show a significant advantage of the experimental group in comparison with the control group in the growth rate of coordination abilities which allows to make a conclusion about the practical effectiveness of the carried out work.
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