New Perspectives in Science Education

The aim of study was to test children with intellectual disorders concentration and attention skills and analyze the role of interdisciplinary team members for improvement of cognitive function. Investigation was approved by Ethical Committee. Vienna test system Cognitrone test subtests S7 and S11 (Schuffried, Austria) were used for analyses of cognitive function in dynamics. The concentration and attention functions were tested two times with one-year interval. 52 children parents were asked to sign Inform Consent Form, 38 Inform Consent Forms were signed, of which 35 children participated in the study. Drop out was 3 children, 2 of them weren’t at school during the test, one was excluded due to a deterioration in health status. The role of interdisciplinary team for development of cognitive function was analyzed using a qualitative method - semi-structured interview. 15 respondents (work experience average 23 yrs.) were selected by cluster method. Results showed that after one-year interval, the cognitive function has tendency to increase, but these indicators are still too weak.  For children with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities they make 38 percentiles for subtest S 7, and 21 percentiles for S 11. The analyses of the dynamics of attention in respondents with severe mental disorders show that the speed of test performance increased, while the accuracy (correct/incorrect answers) remains unchanged. The analyses of results of interview recognize that the main problems in health care of children with intellectual disorders are lack of funding and material resources. Diversification of teaching methods, application of creative thinking and systematic work in the frame of interdisciplinary team are the bases for the intellectual development. The key aspect for improvement of concentration and attention is the individual approach to each child, creating the flexible interdisciplinary team according to the individual needs of each child. Nurses should be the central member and need to acquire an additional knowledge in psychology, pedagogy and communication, especially, with parents. The flexible health care interdisciplinary team work model with nurse as the central person would promote the integration of children and young people into society. The additional investigation will be done in future.

Keywords: Cognitive function, team work, nurse;