Tiltai

The article deals with the problems of the qualimetry of giftedness caused by the lack of a conventional definition of the term giftedness and its quantitative criteria. The method of calculation of child giftedness’ level and the quantitative measure of its expression is offered. On the basis of the proposed technique, the difference between comprehensive and special giftedness is demonstrated. Proposals for realization of some trends of research in giftedness are provided with the aim of their comparison with the studies of various authors.

The spectrum of the links between the quality of life and health has been expanding due to the phenomenon of health acquiring features of a social phenomenon and growing complexity. The research evidenced that health was considered to be one of the most important, and often the most important, dimension of the quality of life. To more comprehensively identify the health-related factors that affected the quality of life in general, the concept of the health-related quality of life has been developed. In our research 1763 children filled KIDSCREEN52 surveys which evidence tendency as follows: even though two thirds of the children did not indicate they had health disorders, only one third of them assessed their health as excellent and very good. This demonstrates that, in the children’s assessment of health, both the absence of a disease or disability and also psychological and social factors are important.

The article analyses the independence of children with mental and behavioural disorders, and the importance of its development and background, which creates the preconditions for a better quality of life. Psychomotor development and building up the independence of children with disabilities basically predetermine better conditions for the child’s integration into the community, the reduction of stress and dependence on family members, and better harmony in the family. The child’s psychomotor development covers major areas of child development: gross motor skills, fine motor skills, cognition, perception of language, verbal expression, self-regulation, and social and emotional development. But in terms of mental and behavioural disorders, the formation of skills proceeds in a more complex way. This disorder often manifests itself together with sensory problems: too high/low response, high stress felt, anxiety, and detachment from specific activities/measures, which may result in the delayed formation of independence skills. The development of the independence of a child with a disability is very important when individually selecting a suitable environment and factors that increase the motivation to learn, seek and interiorise newly acquired skills. These skills predetermine the possibilities for a person with a disability to feel independent in their daily activities in the future. Engagement in social interaction is an inevitable and important element of a high-quality daily life. Children with a disability face increased difficulties in their daily routines. Children with poorer social skills undergo social exclusion, and experience more difficulties in perceiving the feelings of other people, recognising and expressing emotions, complying with regulations and norms, and respecting themselves and others.

The whole idea of this paper spins mainly about one of the main aspects within early child’s education – creativity and its meaning to a child’s psychosocial development. The presented findings rely on the methodological approach supported by Reggio Emilia philosophy. Creativity education, especially based on Reggio Emilia point of view, starts from the very young age and therefore kindergartens as well as families play much significant role to support and develop creativity roots in child’s everyday routine. It is stressed that being creative is more like being initiative and innovative – the features that are mainly required by contemporary society. Also this paper is illustrated with real-life pictures from the activities in the kindergarten “Lazdynėlis”, so it becomes much clearer for those who are interested in this topic to understand how kindergarten daily life may sustain, develop and so enhance creativity of children using many different approaches, e.g. through the game-led tools, teachers’ attitudes etc.

The aim of the research is to evaluate the change in the psychomotor reactions of six and seven-year-old children when applying physical therapy. The research involved children at the age of six and seven years. It aimed at evaluating both the change in the speed of the psychomotor reactions of these children’s free upper limbs to light while applying physical therapy, and the change in the speed of the psychomotor reactions of free upper limbs to sound while applying physical therapy. The research sample consisted of 270 children. Methods. The research data was collected by employing a method of testing using a reactiometer. The surveyed were divided into two research groups, which underwent different programmes in physical therapy exercises twice a week for the duration of six weeks. Group 1 underwent a physical therapy exercise programme comprising introductory, main and final parts (warm-up exercises, exercises developing coordination, and relaxation exercises); Group 2 also underwent a physical therapy programme comprising introductory, main and final parts (warm-up exercises, exercises developing the coordination, and exercises developing the psychomotor reactions to light and sound as well as relaxation exercises). The research data (testing) was collected before starting applying the physical therapy programme, and six weeks later. Results. The research results revealed that the results between the groups differed. The average reaction time was shorter in Group 2, which means that the tasks were completed faster. In Group 1, the shortest reaction time was 283 ms, and the longest was 650 ms. In Group 2, the shortest reaction time was 284 ms, and the longest was 456 ms. Conclusions. When applying physical therapy jointly with purposive exercises that develop the speed of psychomotor reactions, results can be achieved over the shortest period of time substantiated in scientific papers, i.e. six weeks.