The Impact of a Recreational Program on Development of Some Social and Motor Skills of the Mentally Disabled Children

Abstract

College Education and Sport Sciences / University of Basra

Research Objective: The aim of the research is to design a proposed recreational program and to identify its impact on the development of social and motor skills of mentally disabled children, who are able to learn.

Research methodology and field procedures: The researcher used the experimental (pilot) method.

The study has adopted an intentional method in selecting a research sample, and community members have been selected, of the total (55) mentally disabled students of the academic year 2019- 2020.

The study sample was divided into two groups; experimental groups (8) students, and control group (8) students. The procedures for determining the appropriate social skills for mentally disabled children also included the steps of designing social skills programs. The program was implemented on the experimental group and the post-measurements were taken and compared to the control group.

Main findings:

1. The proposed curriculum used in the development of social and motor skills, designed by the researcher, has a clear impact on the development of social and motor skills for mentally disabled children, who are ready and able to learn.


2. The results of the experimental and control groups in the post-tests showed that the proposed recreational approach beats the normal curriculum effectively in developing social and motor skills for children with mental disabilities, who are ready and able to learn.

The Most Significant Recommendations:

1- Adopting the recreational approach in developing social and motor skills proposed by the researcher due to its importance and effectiveness in developing social and motor skills.

2 - Paying attention to development of motor skills of children with mental disabilities, who are ready and able to learn, as it has a great impact on their private and public life and self-esteem.