The Use of Symbols by Elementary Schoolchildren and Adolescents with Learning Disabilities as Tools of Awareness of Subjective Reality

Abstract

Schoolchildren with learning disabilities have difficulties in communication and interaction with other people and this is related to their awareness of other’s subjective reality. A symbol is a “mental tool” for awareness of subjective reality. The symbol is a cultural presentation of subjective reality, mediating the relationship and interaction of two or more agents. The purpose of this study, based on cultural-historical methodology, is to identify and experimentally verify the use of symbols to understand this agent’s subjective reality by younger schoolchildren and adolescents with learning disabilities. The experimental method is based on identifying the dominant attitudes to the awareness of the agent’s subjective reality, as well as how it is interpreted and evaluated by the child. The study involved 80 students of secondary schools: 40 with normal development and 40 with learning disabilities (9-12 and 14-16 years old). It showed difficulties in understanding agent’s subjective reality and the predominance of a stable objective attitude to symbols and other people, with significant differences in the Mann-Whitney U test for the experimental group of participants of both ages. This feature is considered as an obstacle in the construction of interpersonal relationships and cooperation by children and adolescents and can serve as a target for psychological assistance.