DESCRIPTORS: Limited abilities children and young adults, socio-cultural activities, therapies, drama, music, motor development, occupational training, training for life, religious and cultural education, field trips, role playing, life skills, celebrations and performances
SYNOPSIS: Socio-cultural rehabilitation of young people with limited abilities should focus on a variety of areas that can provide necessary developmental skills that will be very useful in life. These areas include living in a society that has folk, religious, family, and national traditions. Preparation for the future can be facilitated with the help of knowledgeable educators and family members through such activities as role playing, drama, games, drawing, movement development classes, music, and religious education. All of these activities combined with field trips and pilgrimages can support the limited abilities students’ preparation for a successful and happy life in their society in Russia.

SOCIO-CULTURAL REHABILITATION AND PEOPLE WITH LIMITED ABILITIES

The Federal Law known as, “On the social protection of disabled persons in the Russian Federation,” stipulates that comprehensive rehabilitation is a most important component of a disabled person’s social protection. Rehabilitation should start as early as possible and be consistent, comprehensive, and uninterrupted. To achieve this, various social protection services are naturally expected to be in close cooperation. The essential part of such cooperation is achieved within an individual rehabilitation program (IRP) which includes a set of specific goal-oriented activities aimed at recovery and compensation of disabled or lost body functions as well as providing a possibility to perform certain types of life activity.

***

The Rehabilitation Center for Children and Young Adults with Limited Abilities which is located in Kurchatov in the Kursk Region of Russia offers diverse social services to people with limited abilities and utilizes the “individual rehabilitation program” (IRP) process in its work.

The IRP combines health care, as well as social and occupational rehabilitation for young adults. In the case of children, socio-cultural activity is a greater priority. Socio-cultural activity can be subdivided into several areas. For instance, health-care rehabilitation involves medication while social rehabilitation implies skill training, environmental therapy, and adjustment to new life circumstances. Undoubtedly, socio-cultural rehabilitation promises great potential in the treatment of limited abilities children. Its unique features include: providing opportunities for interaction within society; increasing self-esteem by strengthening the feeling of equality with other members of society; obtaining communication experience; setting up contacts; and finally, receiving positive feedback from fellow members of society. Socio-cultural rehabilitation is known to provide the individual with vital and socially significant values which help balance development and sustain physical and mental health.

Limited abilities children are often deprived of the communication channels available to healthy kids. Many are limited in movement and receptive sensors. All of this hampers learning the world in its full diversity. Their difficulty in object-related activities and games may bring negative results in shaping their higher mental functions. For such children, rehabilitation and social adaptation are key components of their psychological development and further life. Social rehabilitation uses specially designed, efficient, socio-cultural classes to build on the limited abilities child’s innate physical and mental resources and help him/her reach the highest levels of potential in society. Shaping the “special” child’s personality as the ultimate goal of rehabilitation requires a special socio-cultural environment where the child may fully develop existing potential and abilities. The process of rehabilitation demands hard work and is not always easily attainable. Thus, the child needs reinforcing stimuli, positive motivation, external support, and the rewarding feeling of achievement.

Our center’s most important task in socio-cultural activity is to let the students (children as well as young adults) discover the various possibilities of interaction with others; satisfy their need for communication; and master a variety of life activities. Various events scheduled in the course of socio-cultural rehabilitation are aimed at boosting the children’s mental and physical resources, maintaining their vitality, and establishing interpersonal relations.

Games are well known to be an important type of preschool activity. Healthy kids give their whole selves to playing, and games take up most of their leisure time. A child’s play is the reflection of impressions the child obtains from the surrounding world. A game enables the child to live through and experience various life situations and human relations. In this sense, play is the most important part of the pre-school child’s preparation for future life. Play includes several stages – from simple manipulations with objects and toys for babies to complex role playing for middle and high school children.

Just how well limited abilities children will develop game playing skills depends on the amount and quality of adult involvement. When such children play on their own, the games mostly center on random manipulations with toys. It takes much effort from adults (parents, nurses, experts, etc.) to help the child learn to participate and, eventually, take control of the activity. Only after multiple repetitions of joint play based on simple scenarios will the child be able to participate without help. Some limited abilities children are able to join in relatively simple play that is organized by adults. However, other children find it rather difficult when new actions are introduced into a game. Special sessions are needed to help children learn game movements, expand game plots, get acquainted with rules, and develop an interest in the equipment and other game related objects. Games are sure to increase the child’s social experience, develop imagination and reasoning powers as well as freedom of action. Limited abilities children can and do learn to act in game situations – first, together with adults and, gradually, relying on themselves.

Movement classes include various exercises aimed at motor function and orientation skills development as well as eye-hand coordination. Movement development and correction is also achieved through activities which include speech, play, interaction, motion, and music.

To a large extent, socio-cultural activity focuses on specific skills which will provide limited abilities children with a degree of independence from others as well as elemental work skills as a foundation for employment training.

Drawing develops concentration, memory, imaginative concepts, and motor abilities. It also awakens a motivation toward independent activity.

For music classes, it is of primary importance to structure a proper, music room environment with: an appropriate music selection; a variety of good equipment; clear visual aids; and an expressive teacher with a welcoming appearance, artistic skills, and a warm emotional disposition. Listening and singing can encourage the child’s interest in family, national, and religious holidays. It cultivates love of home, motherland, and nature. Singing not only enriches children with new impressions and develops initiative and self-dependence, but it also teaches them to control their energy by observing rules in choral, or even, karaoke singing. A little singer feels responsibility for other children – the audience listening to him/her – thus building self-discipline and a serious attention to tasks or roles. During music classes, we have a unique opportunity to shape kids’ personalities by means of affecting their emotional sphere. Children are provided with an opportunity to feel equal in playing and singing, and consequently become an equal member of the youth community.

Dramatization provides another opportunity for limited abilities children’s social rehabilitation. It not only teaches valuable skills but also introduces elements of competition and self-representation that are typical of public speaking. Besides, acting puts into practice necessary interaction skills and reduces communication problems which are common for most limited abilities people.

As a part of their socio-cultural work, our experts hold regular celebrations, disco parties, theatre performances, and puppet shows as well as highly motivating classes that contain elements of game therapy. Each child plays some part in these events for which he always gets help from adult experts. Celebrations not only bring children and adults together but also offer certain lessons in behavior and socialization ethics. By employing fairy-tale characters in various real life situations, children may learn to find the way out of entanglements, overcome difficulties, help others in need, win over evil, and cope with their own fears.

All these activities form logical stages in the center’s socio-cultural rehabilitation work. By encouraging children to participate in a particular event, our teachers monitor each child’s developmental evolution within a specific time period and subsequently define future goals. In addition, these various festivities and group events motivate both children and adults to fuller participation in socio-cultural activities.

One of the foremost aspects of sociocultural rehabilitation at our center is the introduction of these young, limited abilities people to our mutual and traditional, Russian Orthodox religious culture. The significance and influence of this culture on their spiritual and moral upbringing in Russia is great. It is not limited to the spiritual part of human life alone. Children employ their religious and cultural knowledge in everyday life situations thus practicing socially-accepted behavior which is also very appropriate in terms of Christian morality. In other words, children learn how to behave in churches, monasteries, and other religious related situations. Importantly, they also take these attitudes into public places as well.
Pilgrimages to holy places in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States countries play an important part in our children’s spiritual and moral upbringing. For the trip to be a success and achieve its educational potential, it must be thoroughly planned taking into consideration a number of mandatory requirements (organizational, medical, pedagogical, cultural, and educational issues as well as the problems of safety and life protection, etc.)

Every field trip or pilgrimage has several vital organizational requirements:

• The group may not exceed 25 people including the optimal number of facilitators (teachers and parents.)
• The group must include medical staff.
• Restrictions due to special health needs are to be taken into account.
• The organizers must estimate the amount of special assistance necessary for those group members who cannot take basic care of themselves.
• There should be thorough planning as regards transportation, accommodation, quality meals, and leisure activities.

Such trips enable the participants to expand their experience with spiritual values. They strengthen general discipline; increase interest and confidence in teachers; create an environment for building social interaction skills and communicative experience; and develop general housekeeping skills under field conditions. The trips also widen student horizons and enhance the culture of interpersonal relations.

In conclusion, we emphasize that socio-cultural activity in the comprehensive rehabilitation of limited abilities people is of primary importance as it strives to solve the main social and psychological problems of children and teenagers thus contributing to their development into full-fledged members of society.

References

1. Andreyeva, O.S.; Lavrova, D.I.; Sazonova, V.S., editors, Issues in the Socio-cultural Rehabilitation of Disabled Children, Moscow: Central Scientific and Technical Information Bureau of Russian Federation Labor Ministry, 2005. [In Russian]
2. Gnedova O.L.; Maidanyuk L.E., Dramatization of Fairy Tales in a Special Needs Nursery School: Teacher’s Guide, St.Petersburg: “Detstvo-Press,” 2007. [In Russian]
3. Yalpayeva, N.V., associate professor, editor, Remedial Assistance for Special Needs People in a Small City Rehabilitation Center: Teacher Guidebook, Kursk: Kursk State University, 2003. [In Russian]
4. Medvyedeva, E.A., editor, Musical Education and Remedial Rhythmics for Special Needs Children, Moscow: Akademiya, 2003. [In Russian]
5. Kisyeleva, T.G.; Krasilnikov, Yu.D., editors, Basics of Socio-Cultural Activity, Moscow: MGUK, 1995. [In Russian]
6. Tsyrlina, T.V.; Kitsul, N.S., editors, With Hope for the Future and Faith in Success: Special Education in Russia and the USA, Kursk: Regional Open Social Institute, 2008.  [In Russian]
7. Nazarova, N.M., editor, Special Needs Pedagogy, Moscow: Akademiya, 2001. [In Russian]    
8. Triodin V.E., Pedagogy of Leisure Time Organization, Leningrad: (now St. Petersburg) VPShK, 1988. [In Russian]
9. Chekulayeva E.O., Magical Holiday for All Nations, Moscow: Linca-Press, 2000. [In Russian]
10. Elkonin D.B., The Psychology of Play, Moscow:Vlados, 1977. [In Russian]