DEVELOPMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF SENSORIMOTOR SKILLS AND HIGHER MENTAL FUNCTIONS OF YOUNGER SCHOOLCHILDREN HAVING DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING

The percentage of primary schoolchildren having difficulties in studying the subjects of the curriculum is quite high. Such children are vulnerable, they are exposed to stress, their adaptive mechanisms are unsettled, and, as a consequence, neurotic personality traits and a negative attitude towards school and learning are forming. At school, the level of academic load and tension increases, this, in turn, leads to exhaustion, lower self-esteem, and growing anxiety in a situation of recitation and doing tasks at school or at home. Early assistance to such children can significantly reduce the risk of negative consequences. The purpose of the study is to analyze the characteristics of the development of sensorimotor skills and the higher mental functions of primary school students with learning difficulties. The study was conducted based on Moscow schools. It involved 84 people, among whom were the students of the 2nd and 3rd grades at the age of 8-9 years. The study focused on the development of sensorimotor skills, voluntary attention, auditory and visual memory. The research was done on the level of anxiety in two groups of schoolchildren, one of which had children with learning difficulties. The authors demonstrate the results they obtained from the analysis of the correlation between the parameters of sensorimotor development, higher mental functions, and anxiety in each group of school students. Recommendations are given for corrective and developmental activities, including exercises based on the use of simple and accessible materials. The analysis has revealed the fact that interrelation of sensorimotor development and the researched mental functions can only refer to schoolchildren with learning difficulties. Considering successful schoolchildren, these parameters are relatively independent.