Features of Cognitive Decentration in Early School-Aged Children with Developmental Delays

This research was aimed at studying cognitive decentration in early school-aged children with developmental delays. Two groups of first and second year pupils participated in the research: (1) 43 children with developmental delays and (2) 37 normally developing children. The following techniques were used for studying cognitive decentration features: a modified M. Hughes' task with a policeman; a task by S.D. Zabramnaya 'A Lion'; Piaget's 'Left/Right' task; a modified Piaget Binet task about the three brothers. The obtained results show that there are features of cognitive decentration that are common both for normal children and for children with developmental delays as well as features that are characteristic of children with developmental delays. For instance, children with developmental delays do not differ from their normally developing peers in their ability for cognitive decentration, but they do differ in the dynamics of decentration development: unlike it is in normal children, their ability for decentration does not increase (over the first two years of studying). The study also revealed the insufficient level of development of the concepts referring to human relationships (e.g. 'sister', 'brother'), which, in the author's opinion, may be caused by developmental delays as well as by the specific character of family relations.

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