Abstract:

Both in special and inclusive educational environments, it is necessary to take into account a range of medical and social factors and their combinations to ensure the protection of health and successful learning of educational programs by elementary school children with mental development disorders. This study has been implemented to identify the most significant determinants of health outcomes of elementary school children with mental development disorders at the stage of primary education and to introduce suggestions for optimizing the educational process.

Methodology:
The study of medical records, assessments of medical specialists and learning outcomes of 240 elementary school children with mental development disorders; surveys of teachers and parents regarding satisfaction with the learning outcomes at elementary school.

Results:
65.4 % (157) of school children with mental development disorders have shown limited perception of sensory information (visual/auditory) and space orientation as a result of such health disorders as the following: 28.3 % (68) impaired vision, 21.2 % (51) impaired movement and perceptual sensitivity, 14.1% (34) multiple disorders of physical and mental development, 1.6% (4) hearing loss.

Modern regulations and methodological guidelines on organizing education for children with intellectual and sensory impairments do not fully correspond to their special educational needs, which leads to a deterioration in health at the initial stage of education. The results of the analysis of preventive examinations, the assessments of medical specialists have shown that by the end of education in elementary school the following negative changes in health condition have been registered in children with mental development disorders: ARVI and respiratory diseases have been registered more than 2 times a year in almost every child, exacerbation of chronic pathology has been observed in 26.2% (63) of children, and 13.3% (32) of the examined children have shown a newly detected pathology. Aggregated teachers opinions are that technical equipment, legislative and legal educational regulations correspond to the health condition and special educational needs of only 25% of children with isolated mental development disorders. Concerning the implementation of the educational process for children with intellectual and sensory impairments in a single educational organization and inclusive school, teachers and parents recognized the results as unsatisfactory, both in terms of school success and in terms of children's health maintenance and social integration of children with intellectual and sensory impairments.

When organizing the education of children with intellectual and sensory impairments in various educational environments, establishing the norms of the teaching load, the amount of health-maintaining measures, including preventive and restorative ones, it is necessary to take into account such factors as the structure of the primary pathology and the severity of developmental disorders, the nature of secondary psychological deviations and special educational needs, which will reduce the risk of impairment of health in elementary school and prevent social maladjustment.

Keywords:

Special educational environments, children with mental development disorders, sensory impairments.