PECULIARITIES OF ART THERAPY-BASED INTERVENTIONS FOR OVERCOMING SOCIOCULTURAL MALADAPTATION IN CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

Abstract

Sociocultural adaptation is a complex, multidimensional, and dynamic process through which a child becomes integrated into the system of social relationships, internalizes social norms and values, develops patterns of interaction with others, acquires experience in collaborative activities, and masters culturally appropriate forms of self-expression. During childhood, this process is closely associated with the development of communicative competence, emotional regulation, self-awareness, self-esteem, the ability to establish and maintain interpersonal relationships, and the experience of being accepted as a valued member of a social community.

For children with special educational needs (SEN), the process of sociocultural adaptation is often accompanied by additional challenges arising from the characteristics of their psychophysical development, the nature of their developmental disorders, communication difficulties, limited social experience, obstacles to acquiring social norms and rules, and the influence of external environmental factors. At the same time, sociocultural maladaptation in children with SEN should not be viewed solely as a direct consequence of a developmental disability. Rather, it results from the complex interaction between the child's individual psychological characteristics and the social environment in which development occurs. Communication barriers, limited accessibility of educational and cultural environments, social stigmatization, restricted opportunities for participation in collaborative activities, and insufficient psychological support may significantly intensify difficulties in social integration and contribute to the emergence of maladaptive behavioral and emotional patterns.

To empirically investigate the characteristics of sociocultural maladaptation among children with SEN, a diagnostic study involving 120 participants was conducted. The experimental group consisted of 60 children with special educational needs, including children with autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities, and behavioral disorders. A comparison group comprised 60 children with typical development. Thus, the study sample included equal proportions of children with SEN and typically developing children (50% in each group).

The inclusion of two comparison groups was determined by the need to identify not only the specific manifestations of sociocultural maladaptation characteristic of children with SEN but also those developmental features that may be common to childhood in general. Comparing the findings obtained from both groups made it possible to distinguish difficulties that are significantly more pronounced in children with SEN from age-related or situational characteristics observed in typically developing peers. Such a comparative approach provides a scientifically grounded basis for identifying the primary targets of subsequent art therapy-based intervention programmes aimed at promoting sociocultural adaptation.