If corrective and educational measures are not taken at preschool age to overcome shortcomings in behavior, then such children, as a rule, turn out to be unprepared for schooling. They do not know how to obey school requirements, do not fulfill their educational tasks, come into conflict with their comrades and the teacher, violate discipline, sometimes run away from school and from home. Under adverse conditions, they may be influenced by offenders.
Despite the fact that the intellect of children with organic psychopathy is not impaired, their productivity in learning is often not high enough, because they begin to complete the task without preliminary reflection, do not focus on it, do not retain individual elements of the task in memory, and are unable to overcome obstacles.
All these components, i.e., the preservation of intellect in the event of a violation of intellectual activity; the preservation of elementary emotional formations in the underdevelopment of more complex forms of the emotional-volitional sphere and determine the originality of the structure of the defect in the development of a child with organic psychopathy, where all the features of his behavior stem from a violation of the core of his personality. The severity of the defect varies, but its structure always remains the same.
In correctional and pedagogical work with such children, it is necessary to pay special attention to the correct organization of the process of initial education. These children are not hindered by the assimilation of reading, writing and counting, but they are poorly involved in activities, do not complete the work they have begun, and do it carelessly and carelessly. Therefore, the most important thing in teaching children with organic psychopathy is to persistently teach them to carefully complete tasks. At first, you can give children easy tasks, and then the tasks need to be gradually complicated.
In the course of correctional and pedagogical work, it is very important to prevent the possibility of gaps in knowledge, since pedagogical neglect will significantly complicate further work with such children. Correctional and educational activities with children in this group should include such types of work that would be aimed at developing the ability to analyze and evaluate your own actions. Given that these children do not have enough control over their behavior, show instability, suggestibility and easily fall under negative influence, the teacher must constantly put them in a strictly organized regime and not let them out of sight. In working with such children, it is very important to maintain a calm, even tone, as they are easily excitable, often irritated and reach an affective outburst on the most insignificant occasion. At the same time, the teacher must remember that during the period of passion it is better to switch the child to some other activity than to persuade, and even more so to punish him, since punishment can only increase arousal.
In the course of correctional and pedagogical work with psychopathic children, it is very important for the teacher to maintain close contact with the parents of schoolchildren in order to ensure a unified approach to their education and upbringing. In addition, parents can provide significant assistance to the teacher in his work.
Contact with a neuropsychiatrist is also important for use in case of need for therapeutic measures.
There is also a group of children with the so-called constitutional psychopathy. The etiological factor of this psychopathy is pathological heredity. So, in families where there are cases of epilepsy, there are psychopathic personalities with epileptoid character traits. The main features of this group are the viscosity and stiffness of emotional manifestations. Epileptoids are characterized by being stuck on experiences, gloominess, suspicion, discontent, a tendency to sharp affective outbursts, vindictiveness, malice, stinginess and greed. Of course, these symptoms do not always occur immediately in one person, and the severity of these manifestations may vary. People with epileptoid psychopathy have many positive traits: good performance, thoroughness in completing tasks, purposefulness, the ability to focus on work and overcome difficulties.
The development of children with epileptoid psychopathy has its own patterns. Already in early childhood, they have increased irritability, and it can be long and poorly switched. At preschool age, affective tension grows in such children, which is expressed in “getting stuck” on their experiences and actions. At school age, a combination of these features forms a number of secondary character traits, both positive and negative. On the one hand, these children are purposeful in their activities, accurate and pedantic when performing tasks, productive at work, and active. On the other hand, they are vindictive, vengeful, stingy, prone to affective outbursts. In adolescence, an unstable mood, isolation, suspicion, distrust of others are added to this.
Pathological character traits in these children are formed gradually and appear only at certain stages of development. Timely corrective and pedagogical influence can significantly mitigate the character traits of children with epileptoid psychopathy. And the sooner correctional and educational work is started, the greater the effect can be achieved. The main thing in this correctional and educational work should be the desire to overcome the tendency that these children have to “get stuck” on their experiences. To do this, you need to include them in various activities and provide the necessary assistance in the process of its implementation. With the manifestation of stubbornness, negativism, anger, the teacher should not influence the child authoritatively. It is best to switch him to some activity that he is good at. Since such children have some slowness of thinking, it is advisable to go through educational material with the child in advance in the process of additional classes. They should be involved in socially useful circle work. Work is especially beneficial for the upbringing of these children, so it is very important to include them in various types of labor activity. In case of affective arousal, which can manifest itself in adverse conditions, it is best to isolate the child, that is, place it in a calm environment, and give the necessary therapeutic agents to reduce arousal, as prescribed by the doctor.
Distrustfulness and irritability, increased resentment of these children often lead to the appearance of a hostile attitude not only towards comrades, but also towards the teacher. Therefore, it is very important to establish good contact with the child, to convince him that the teacher is trying to help him. An individual approach to these children, taking into account the peculiarities of their character, usually gives positive results.
For children with hysterical psychopathy, egocentrism is most characteristic. They are prone to boasting and embellishing their qualities, tend to put their personality in the foreground. These qualities are usually combined with increased suggestibility, instability of emotional manifestations, instability of mood. Already at preschool age, children with hysterical traits conflict with their peers, are capricious, they are irritable, not always obedient, prone to hysterical reactions — they throw themselves on the floor, cry, knock their feet, trying in every possible way to insist on their own. At school age, manifestations of egocentrism in these children are accompanied by restlessness in work, the inability to complete the work begun.
Correctional and educational work with children with hysterical character traits should be started from the moment when these traits are noticed. Often, hysterical character traits in a child are formed in a family where parents often not only do not oppose the manifestations of egocentrism in a child, but, on the contrary, yield to him in everything, indulge his whims. This approach is very harmful for these children.
For hysterical children, being in a children’s team is very useful, since in the course of playing with peers they have to suppress their egoistic tendencies.
Correctional and educational work must be built taking into account their full-fledged intelligence and the positive qualities of the personality of these children. First of all, it is necessary to identify his inclinations and abilities, support them and, on this basis, build work on the re-education of the child’s personality. It is necessary to help such a child, relying on his positive traits, to take a certain position in the children’s team, to form a positive attitude towards him from his comrades.
In order to help children with behavioral difficulties, it is necessary to observe the unity of requirements in working and communicating with children both in kindergarten and at home, since the child spends most of the time in the family.
The main requirements for parents are:
— do not pamper the child;
— do not fight with the child;
Don’t capitulate to a child.
Parents should create conditions in the family for calm and restraint of the child. It is advisable for parents to learn to see themselves, their behavior as if from the outside. Children can be allowed to watch only children’s cartoons on TV, no more than 30 minutes a day.