Positive socialization model for children with special needs

The article deals with the theoretical preconditions of socialization of children with special needs: the diversity of factors, features and conditions determining socialization, the structural elements of socialization model for children with mental disorders are presented and grounded, the peculiarities of their implementation are disc1osed when organizing their life and socialization in practical activity in one of new type social institutions where the children with mental disorders live remaining without parents’ care since their birth. The period of 10 years of socialization is researched during which the validity of elements of socialization model was checked by researches of various children activities spheres that grounded the effectiveness and correctness of presented socialization model for children with mental disorders. This is illustrated by the analysis of the data of the empirical research for children with mental disorders where the adaptation of behaviour in socialization sphere of 40 children with mental disorders living in social institution is evaluated. On the basis of the research results the conditions of the main socialization activities influencing socialization are presented as well as the communication preconditions of the handicapped children and pedagogical and social methods of their development, relation with the environment, formation and modification of social behaviour, which is useful for the practical implementation of socialization model