Historical aspects of development of adaptive physical culture for people with mental retardation

Contact: Kolyshkin Oleksandr, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences (PhD), Associate Professor of the Chair of Special and Inclusive Education of Sumy State Pedagogical University named after A. S. Makarenko, Sumy, Ukraine. In the area of scientific interests: development of the motor sphere of people with disabilities by means of adaptive physical culture.

The article analyzes historical aspects of development of adaptive physical culture for people with mental retardation. Attention is focused on the study of the historical stages of formation of this branch, aimed at health promotion, achievement of the necessary level of efficiency and adaptation of people of specified nosology to the society both in our country and abroad. It is noted that one of the significant achievements of the previous historical stages is awareness and scientific substantiation of the decisive role of motor activity for the rehabilitation of people with special needs.

The popularity of the special Olympic movement, which stimulates development and use of physical culture and sports for people with mental retardation, is substantiated. Historical experience of implementing adaptive physical culture for these individuals has shown that people who have mental retardation, exercise with great satisfaction and strong emotional charge of vivacity, stimulate development of personal qualities that lead to the demonstration of high sports results by these people. The result of the first experiments of implementation in practice of adaptive sports is that this kind of activity not only promotes physical development and improvement of those who goes in for sports, but also allows them to gain valuable social experience: communication, execution of various roles and functions, positive emotions.

It is stated that popularization of the process of adaptive physical culture (in historical perspective), has positive effect on functioning of the basic systems of the body of people with mental retardation, thereby contributing to development of correctional-compensatory functions, which allows people of the specified nosology to adapt better to social life. Realization of the process of adaptive physical culture for people with mental retardation helps them in social adaptation and self-realization, provides them with the opportunity to succeed both in the sports arena and abroad, is the most important social phenomenon of the present that embodies the ideas of justice and humanism.

Key words: historical aspects, adaptive physical culture, development, persons with mental retardation, sport.