Enhancing tactile sensitivity in 5th to 7th grade students with visual impairment through specifically oriented physical exercises

Abstract

Purpose: This research aims to improve the tactile sensitivity of 5th to 7th grade pupils with visual impairments. Materials and Methods. The study involved 102 pupils aged 10–13 years divided into experimental and control groups by grade and gender. Methods included theoretical analysis, synthesis of scientific literature, esthesiometry, pedagogical experiments, and statistical analysis IBM SPSS Statistics. Tactile sensitivity of the distal phalanx of the middle finger and palm center was assessed. Before the study, all participants underwent medical examinations without contraindications to physical activity. All parents were informed about the specifics of the study and provided written consent for their children to participate in the experiment. Results of the research. The increase of tactile sensitivity of the distal phalanx of the middle finger (p<0,001) and middle palm (p<0,01–0,001) was showed in visually impaired pupils of 5–7th grades of experimental groups under the influence of introduced specially oriented physical exercises. Traditional physical culture lessons for visually impaired pupils of the control groups didn’t have a significant impact on the functional state of the tactile analyzer (p>0,05). The analysis of the obtained results revealed the following regularities: among the studied indicators the most significant improvement of the results of touch sensation on the distal phalanx of the middle finger was observed in girls, in the middle of the palm – in boys. Conclusions. The use of specially oriented physical exercises at physical culture lessons in 5–7th grade pupils with visual impairment of experimental groups contributed to a significant (р˂0,01–0,001) improvement of tactile sensitivity indicators of distal phalanx of the middle finger and middle palm, which positively influenced the functional state of tactile sensory system in the specified contingent. To increase the sensitivity of tactile analyzers in 5–7th grade pupils with visual impairments, we recommend including the proposed physical exercises in the main part of physical culture lessons in the variable modules of athletics, football, basketball, volleyball, and gymnastics.