We meet people of varying degrees of development or people who cause various education problems in all the environments. “The number of such people is growing all the time (...), which constitutes a paradox as far as the development of civilisation and technological progress in our times is concerned”(Dykcik, 1997). People differ from each other in numerous aspects, they are characterised by different predisposition that either facilitate their self-realisation in life, or make it more difficult. People have varying potentials that can be fulfilled with the assistance of education that enables individuals to lead a good life in the society.
Development, education and rehabilitation of the disabled require a systemic approach as well as a complementary and interdisciplinary picture in which the integral vision of a person postulates the development of all the spheres of his/her functioning, such as the physical, the psychical, the social, the cultural, and the spiritual spheres. The point of these approaches is to provide optimal conditions for a person’s development and to eliminate harmful factors that may threaten human existence.
1. The right diagnosis as the basis for planning of rehabilitation work
Work with a person with any kind of a disorder or dysfunction begins with an early and comprehensive diagnosis. In a comprehensive and multifaceted process of diagnosing pedagogical diagnosis plays a significant role as the basis for planning didactic and revalidation work. Pedagogical diagnosis focuses on obtaining information about
a child, assessing the child’s intellectualabilities, and learning about his/her family situation. It also involves determining deficiencies in a child’s knowledge and skills, as well as an investigation into the reasons behind these deficiencies. Pedagogical diagnosis has to be dynamic and formative and thus it should not be created once, but it should be developed through time and during this process revalidation activities that take place at that time need to be taken into consideration. These activities combined with a pedagogue’s observations need to complement specialist diagnoses.
For children with developmental deficits comprehensive pedagogical diagnosis conducted right on time is a very important factor influencing their further development. This diagnosis constitutes a basis for any further therapeutic and revalidation activities. In order to conduct such diagnosis a group of specialists is to design a plan of a therapy for a child through his/her observation (Łakomy & Trojańska, 2000). Early diagnosis enables early recognition of certain abnormalities and it also allows intensive stimulation and revalidation. “The first measures to assist a disabled child should be taken already in the maternity ward”
(Łakomy & Trojańska, 2000, 34), as the diagnosis not only describes the status quo, but it also explains the dynamics of the development of a particular disorder. It is only with this explanation that the situation can be comprehended adequately and that further development of the situation can be predicted. A good diagnosis determines the choice of appropriate methods of work.
2. The choice of methods of rehabilitation
The fact that approaches have to be adjusted to the particular needs and capabilities of a patient is particularly valid when talking about disabled children. Not every method takes into account proper stimulation of all the malfunctioning spheres of a child’s development or the proper assistance that needs to be provided for a child.
The best results can be achieved through early treatment before certain incorrect patterns of posture or movements become fixed and as a result some muscular contractures or secondary deformations are developed. Two other main factors influencing the effects are regularity and the period of time of the treatment.
The methods of diagnosing, certification, classification, and selection as well as the methods of caring, educational, and rehabilitation-therapeutic activities together with some other forms of intervention have been improved for a long time and they are still being improved. However, it needs to be remembered that each child requires an individual approach. In rehabilitation the newest method may not turn out to be the best. The newest results of research on the development of methods of rehabilitation have to be considered with respect to the correct evaluation of a child that will enable to design an appropriate program for improvement, based on scientific medical and psycho-pedagogical basis.
In order to avoid accidental choices of therapeutic-educational methods a pedagogue should be directed in his/her work by pedagogical principles, the most important of which is the principle of personalization or an individual approach. It presumes that a handicapped person, no matter how large or serious his/her dysfunction is, makes an individual, a subject whose dignity and identity should be carefully protected. The next principle concerns normalisation of life, which implies creating optimal conditions for a person’s development. Some other principles are also very important and meaningful, such as, for example, the principle of responsibility of the society for the disabled and the assistance for the handicapped that means supporting the efforts of those whose capabilities are insufficient or limited to complete their existential pursuits (Dykcik, 1997, 76-79).
3. Selected methods to enhance motor functions
in the rehabilitation-therapeutic Centre for disabled children in Krasnystaw
The principles enumerated earlier in the text serve as a guideline for pedagogues, psychologists, and therapists working in the Rehabilitation-Therapeutic Center for Disabled Children in Krasnystaw. The Centre was established in 2005 by the Integration Association “Magnum Bonum” whose aim is to provide comprehensive assistance for handicapped children and adolescents and their families as well as to create multifaceted forms of
rehabilitation for these children that will lead to their complete personal, social, and occupational activity. According to its Statutes, the Association also provides assistance for gifted children and adolescents whose financial or social situation is difficult as well as for those who come from pathological families. In addition to that, the Association undertakes the tasks of social welfare by supporting both individuals and families in a difficult situation and by improving their opportunities for proper social functioning.
The Association also performs charity work, implements different projects related to health protection and health promotion, and it works within the fields of science and education. The aim of the Association is work for the European integration and the organisation and promotion of voluntary service.2
A Day Care Centre run by the Association implements a multi-specialist program of comprehensive rehabilitation for handicapped children who require intensive intervention and stimulation of development in peer group. The Centre has various rehabilitative equipment for hydrotherapy, electrotherapy, laser therapy, magnotherapy and kinesiotherapy.
The Centre assists disabled children in the improvement of their development through psychostimultaion, artetherapy, educational therapy, therapy through play, non-directive therapy, music therapy (behavioral therapy through music), and sociotherapy.
A child with developmental deficits can develop according to his/her capabilities. Progress in such fields as medicine or psycho-pedagogy has allowed a better understanding of the processes related to the development of disabilities and contributed to the verification of the methods used before. What seems crucial nowadays is multi-profile work with children without their separation from home or educational environment, as well as an integral approach that will ensure the development of all the spheres of a disabled child with respect to his/her capabilities. Work performed in the Centre together with the methods of enhancement applied there contribute to such a development of handicapped children.
2 § 8 of the Statutes of the Integration Association „Magnum Bonum”, www.magnumbonum.pl/statut.html
The extent of this article does not permit to describe all the methods used in the Rehabilitation-Therapeutic Center for Disabled Children in Krasnystaw. For more information about the Center and the methods applied there please visit the website: www.
magnumbonum.pl/osrodek/osrodek.html References
Dykcik, W. (ed.) (1997). Pedagogika specjalna (Special Needs Education), Poznań, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza.
Łakomy, D., Trojańska M. (2000). Usprawnienie, wychowanie i nauczanie osób z upośledzeniem umysłowym (Improvement, Education and Teaching of People with Mental Retardation), Kraków, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Akademii Pedagogicznej, 2000.
Statutes of the Integration Association „Magnum Bonum”, www.
magnumbonum.pl/statut.html