FEATURES OF PSYCHODIAGNOSTICS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN WITH ASD

Abstract

The article examines the theoretical aspects of autism in children of primary school age in foreign and Ukrainian psychology, the specifics of psychological diagnosis. The diagnostic criteria of autism are determined, which are characterized by: persistent deficit of social communication and social interaction, not taking into account general developmental delay; limited, repetitive forms of behavior, interests and activities; the appearance of violations in early childhood (which may not manifest until the moment when social demands exceed the child's capabilities); disorders of everyday functioning. Features of the cognitive development of children with autism are characterized: exhaustion of mental processes, lack of sustained attention, weakness of thinking, etc. Cognitive development is correlated with mental processes. Educational activity is characterized. One of the components of cognitive development is singled out – social interaction, which is complicated by negativism, sensory oversaturation, and the desire to isolate. Children cannot respond to the love and attention of others in the expected and acceptable way. They are difficult to accept tactile contacts, ignore and poorly determine the behavior of other people, do not understand feelings. Deficiency of empathy is the cause of maladaptive unacceptable behavior. Such cognitive distortions are manifested at all levels of the child's behavior and socialization, making interaction, communication, and interaction with the environment difficult. The importance of studying the complexities and deficits of cognitive functions lies in the formation of understanding and generalization of the phenomenon of why autism takes so many different forms. This makes it possible to effectively plan educational and psychocorrective work with a group of such children. It was determined that a complex individual psychological and pedagogical approach is necessary for psychocorrection of the cognitive sphere of a child with an autistic spectrum disorder. The effectiveness of psychological assistance depends on many factors, in particular, on the interaction of the child with the family, the competence and experience of the specialist; thoroughness of psychodiagnostic measures, which predicts the degree of severity of complications in the child's development, to determine the ways of an individual approach and corrective tasks.