Body experience and its impact on personal development child with limited health opportunities

Kolesnikova Galina Yurievna, Tkach Elena Nikolaevna

The article presents psychological ideas about the impact of bodily experience on the development of the personality of a child with disabilities. Motor and sensory disorders at an early stage of ontogenesis, manifested in bodily experience, create unfavorable conditions for the development of the personality of a child with disabilities. Forced position in the crib, limited voluntary movements, impaired grasping and manipulative function of the hands, frequent hospitalizations negatively affect the development of the child's self-awareness, the development of various aspects of his personality. A significant number of children with physical disabilities have negative bodily experiences, which in the self-consciousness of these children are associated with the use of affected body parts and unsuccessful physical contact with loved ones. Children with psychophysiological defects do not have the skill to use physical contact as a means of communication, when it is paramount and significant in the formation of the self-awareness of a young child. Experiencing an excessive need for emotional support from loved ones in the form of bodily contact, children are wary and tense about physical touches, caresses, and pats. In connection with these restrictions, the child develops an attitude to perceive his body as weak, helpless, and the behavior manifests a desire to “hide” the affected part of the body from others. An adequate (correct) attitude of parents and favorable conditions for early psychological and pedagogical support are of great importance for the formation of adequate self-esteem, which, in turn, contributes to the development of a harmonious personality of a child with disabilities.

Keywords:bodily experience, physicality, personality development, a child with disabilities, motor and sensory disorders, physical and psychophysiological defects.