Formation of Communication Skills of Younger Schoolchildren with Mental Retardation through Theatrical Activities

Abstract

The article presents the practical aspects of studying the formation of communication skills of younger schoolchildren with mental retardation in the process of extracurricular theatrical activities. The specifics of the phenomenon of communication skills and the influence of theatrical activities on their formation are analyzed. In the course of the pilot study, it was found that at the ascertaining stage of the experiment, children of primary school age with mental retardation showed low levels of communication skills, indicating insufficient communicative competence, ineffective communicative interaction, insufficiently developed activity in the field of displaying and transmitting action landmarks: In order to form communication skills among younger schoolchildren with mental retardation, a program was developed that consists of three stages: preparatory, main and final. At the control stage of the experiment, the indicators of the development of communication skills became higher in the experimental group, which indicates the effectiveness of the use of the psycho-correction program by means of theatricalization, aimed at increasing the communication skills of children of primary school age with mental retardation.