Analysis of the structural feature of rhythmicity in 8-10 year-old children with Down syndrome

Togliatti State University, Togliatti, Russia.

Abstract

The paper substantiates the idea that the set rational rhythm of movements creates favorable conditions for the organization of motor activity. The insufficient level of its formation affects the activity of physiological systems, and results in significant energy expenditure with minimal results. A promising approach for solving the problem of developing rhythmicity in 8-10 year-old children with Down syndrome is to form the following varieties of the ability: individual rhythm; collective rhythm; rhythm in exercises with musical accompaniment. The paper analyses the results of testing the structural feature of rhythmicity in children with developmental disabilities. The change in the level of rhythmicity in children with Down syndrome of the experimental group was registered. The best results were achieved for the rhythmic exercises performed with musical accompaniment, the difference in the arithmetic mean values between the stages of the experiment was 1.37 points. In the control group with mental retardation (CG (MR)) the difference between the rhythmicity indicators in the exercises performed with musical accompaniment was less significant, only 0.17 points. The average index of rhythm in collective activities in the experimental group of children with Down syndrome (EG (DS)) increased by 1.33 points. Particular attention is paid to the results of the development of individual rhythm between the groups studied, at the beginning of the experiment the difference between the scores of CG (MR) and the EG (DS) was 0.83, at the end it decreased by 0.18 points. The scores of children with Down syndrome almost reached the results of children with MR. Such a positive result indicates the influence of rhythm on the motor areas of the brain of children with Down syndrome.