Rozwój psychospołeczny mlodzieży z lekką niepełnosprawnością intelektualną w aspekcie asymetrii czynnościowej wybranych zdolności motorycznych

Background. The cognitive objective of the present paper was to diagnose and compare the level of body lateralization in girls and boys with mild intellectual disability in the area of functional asymmetry of selected motor abilities. The practical objective was to verify the possibilities of using the functional asymmetry test in body lateralization diagnosis in intellectually disabled adolescents. Material and methods. The study covered a group of 44 individuals in total, that is boys (22 persons) and girls (22 persons) aged 15–16 years. To assess the functional asymmetry the Koszczyc–Sekita test developed at the University School of Physical Education in Wrocław was used. Results. The tests enabled the authors to formulate the following general conclusion: the lateral diversity of 1) upper and lower limb velocity and 2) strength of lower extremities in the investigated girls and boys with mild intellectual disability is statistically insignificant. Only the strength of the upper limbs has a significant level of functional asymmetry. The lowest level of asymmetry occurs in strength of the lower limbs. Conclusion. The investigation is the next step in diagnosing the state of lateralization in children and adolescents with intellectual disability. This is an issue which has been poorly studied though it is essential to be effective in such activities as learning and teaching. For the above reasons the diagnosis in this developmental area should become one of the most important elements of the teachers’ work.