Cognitive Development of Children with Mental Disorders through Special Programs

Goal: Evidencing the effectiveness of Individual Education Program’s application methods for the rehabilitation of children with limited intellectual capacities, autistic and Down syndrome for their integration in the community. Objective: Observing children capacities after program implementation (PEI-I, PEI-II, PEI-III), regarding development context: Self-service capacity, cognitive capacity, social ability, physique ability, and linguistic ability, and practical capacity, professional and emotional ability through vertical grills. Methodology: Instruments used for the study’s data collection and processing are: Individual education program (PEI) of children with Down syndrome, intellectual incapacity, autistics, half structured interviews with parents, educators focus group, vertical grill observations with children, SONER test and SPSS program packet. Results: SONER test results show that mental medium age of children trained in 2002-2012 programs is up to 6 years old, untrained children for the same period is up to 6 months old. Results of trained children in the three cognitive ability programs for autistic, Down syndrome and the intellectual incapacitated children are different. Autistic children reached the full Likert scale up to 50% -55%, Down syndrome children 60%-65% and the intellectually incapacitated 75%-80%. In linguistic ability autistics were 55%-60%, Down syndrome 65%-75% and the intellectually incapacitated 80-90%. In social ability autistics 60-70%, Down syndrome 75-80% and the intellectually incapacitated 85%-90%. Results of untrained children directly observed in the same period of 2002-2012 according to tests: Cognitive capacity of 2002, autistic children did not accomplish at all Likert scale measure up to 85-95% and in 2012, 75-85%. Linguistic ability in 2002 85-95% and in 2012, 70-85%. In social ability in 2002 80-90% and 2012,70-80%. Down syndrome children in cognitive capacity in 2002, 85-90% and 2012, 70-80%. In linguistic ability in 2002,75-90% and 2012, 68-80%. In social ability in 2002, 80-70% and in 2012, 80-70%. Children with mental weakness in 2002, 94-98% and 2012, 85-80%. In linguistic ability in 2002, 90-96% and in 2012, 80-85%. In social ability in 2002, 85-95% and 2012, 75-88%. Discussion. Study findings prove the hypothesis that individual educational programs application methods help the psychosocial, physical, linguistic and emotional rehabilitation of children with intellectual incapacities. The influence of such programs is different in all three diagnoses that represent children in this study. Due to the high levels of children’s psycho-social parameters, the progress of the intellectually incapacitated children is higher in relation to autistic and Down syndrome children. Conclusions. Individual education programs (PEI) accelerate rehabilitation of Down syndrome, autistics and the intellectually incapacitated children to be integrated in the community.