The aim of this research is the analysis of peculiarities in the cognition field of primary school pupils' with oncological diseases.
The following techniques have been used: perception span– “Figures recognition”, “Words, numbers and images reproduction”; steadiness, switching, attention allocation and working efficiency dynamics – “Shultz tables”; rote, mediated and notional memory – “10 words”, “Pictographs”, etc.; imagination level – creative tasks as “Collect a picture”, “What does it look like?”, etc.; analysis and synthesis peculiarities – “Odd one out”, “Notions’ comparison”; self-regulation and intention ability level – verbal instructions’ accomplishment, etc.
Testees: 32 children of 6 – 9 years on the books at the Rostov regional hospital’s oncohematological department (acute lymphoblastic leukemia, medulloblastoma, Wilms tumor, T-lymphoid neoplasm). Average remission duration – 1,8 years. Control group – 64 people. The research has been conducted with each child individually.
The following peculiarities have been discovered among testees:
1. Memory characteristics. Rote (p=0,045), mediate memory (p=0,023) and development of semantic relations (p=0,016) lag substantially.
2. Thinking peculiarities. Generalizing and abstracting processes’ weakness has been discovered in the following rates: “odd one out” (p=0,023), “notions’ comparison” (p=0,032).
3. Self-regulation level as a general studying ability’s component is lower: differences in “verbal instructions” and “voluntary behaviour” rates have been discovered (p=0,046 and p=0,016 respectively).
4. Perception span, descriptive materials’ recognition processes, attention stability, efficiency, spatial orientation and imagination – rates are lower than in the control group, but the results are statistically insignificant.
5. Absence of interest, weak participation and emotional languor (at memorizing given words and solving reflective problems), insufficient skills of subjecting actions to instructions, listening and accomplishing adults’ directions (while performing the tasks) have been noticed during the research, which influences the testees’ cognitive sphere retardation.
Given the found characteristics of primary school pupils' with oncopathologies, we recommend the elaboration of individual programs of their psychological support in education.