Art Therapy`S Influence On Preschoolers`S With Mental Delay Emotional Development

Abstract

The main methods used by many educators and psychologists for the correction of emotional sphere of preschool children are the forms of art and creative activities accessible to preschoolers, in other words, art therapy. The present study includes three main stages. The diagnostic stage of our experimental study aims at diagnosing the emotional sphere of six-year-old preschoolers with mental development delay. The development stage includes the employment of the program "Our Emotions". The control stage consists in the secondary diagnostics of the emotional sphere development of preschoolers under study. The study shows that art therapy can be successfully used in relation to emotional sphere as well as self-esteem level in preschool children with mental development delay. Therefore, correction programs including art therapy elements for senior preschoolers have a unique potential for their correctional-developmental education. This method gives the child opportunities for self-revelation and self-realization, and also creates necessary conditions for a specialist for diagnosing and correcting the child's emotional state. The experiment conducted shows that senior preschoolers with mental development delay have significant difficulties in realizing and expressing their emotions as well as insufficient skills at controlling their own emotional states. Using art therapy elements and methods in the correctional work will contribute to the successful overcoming of deficiencies in emotional sphere in senior preschoolers with mental development delay.