From the author: Down's disease Down's disease (Down L., 1866). A form of oligophrenia. Characterized by delayed mental and physical development, somatic changes, a specific appearance (microbrachycephaly, close proximity and oblique shape of the eyes, wide and sunken bridge of the nose, half-open mouth, irregularly shaped ears). Mental underdevelopment of varying degrees: from mildly expressed debility to idiocy. Manifestation of congenital trisomy of chromosome 21. All questions and suggestions Relevance of the study. In early childhood, the foundations of personality are laid and the child’s educational potential is formed. Identifying violations in the development of a young child and providing him with timely psychological and pedagogical assistance can prevent the emergence of secondary developmental deviations and ensure maximum realization of his capabilities. Therefore, the development of a system of early assistance to a family with a problem child is today one of the priority areas for modernizing the special education system. The experience of including parents in the correctional assistance system has shown that the strategies of their behavior and the degree of activity, which directly affect the effectiveness of correctional influence, are characterized by great diversity. This circumstance indicates the need for a comprehensive study of individual psychological factors that determine differences in the behavior of parents in interaction with a “special” child. In recent decades, works have appeared in psychology showing that in the situation of giving birth and raising a disabled child, the emotional state of parents and child-parent relationships undergo specific changes (I.S. Bagdasaryan, E.R. Baenskaya, A.Ya. Varga, E. M. Mastyukova, O. S. Nikolskaya, L. S. Pechnikova, A. M. Prikhozhan, E. A. Savina, A. S. Spivakovskaya, V. V. Tkacheva, O. B. Charova, E. G. Eidemiller, V .V.Yustitsky and others). However, the question of the psychological mechanisms of these changes, as well as the factors underlying individual variability in parental behavior, has not been sufficiently studied. Thus, the development of a system of early assistance to a family with a problem child requires the design and implementation of experimental scientific research aimed at studying the conditions and factors that determine the individual characteristics of the interaction of a mother with a “special” child. To develop this issue, the most adequate heuristic tool seems to be the theoretical construct “internal maternal position,” defined as “a form of reflection, acceptance and mastery by a woman of her social position as a mother” (E.I. Zakharova). This construct allows us to study in integrity and mutual influence a number of phenomena that regulate maternal behavior in child-parent relationships: personal meanings of motherhood and their place in the system of actual motives; emotional attitude towards motherhood, towards oneself as a mother and towards the child; the image of a child, the image of oneself in the role of a mother; ideas about raising a child and relationships with him. In this work, which is part of the research program of the Institute of Correctional Pedagogy of the Russian Academy of Education to study the characteristics of the development of the internal maternal position in the conditions of raising a young child with various developmental disorders, the experimental group consisted of mothers and their young children with Down syndrome. This genetic anomaly is characterized by a high frequency in the population: among newborns, the frequency of its occurrence is on average 1:600-1:900, and when the mother is over 45 years old, it is 1:32. In addition, this nosological group can serve as a model for studying the development of the internal position of the mother of a child with mental retardation, since the typical characteristics of her social experience appear here with maximum certainty. First of all, the situation of the birth of a child with Down syndrome, the diagnosis and the news of mental retardation can be considered as serious stress that can significantlychange the psychological state of the mother. According to a number of researchers, the birth of a child with developmental disorders that leaves no hope for his “recovery” is often experienced by parents as the loss of a healthy child (D. Duncan, AJSolnit, MNStark). Such an event requires a revision of the family’s ideas about the future, but the solution to this problem is made difficult by the inability to predict the course of mental development of a child with mental retardation, access to educational and other resources, and, in general, the social prospects of the family (R.B. Darling, M. Seligman) . The appearance of a child with Down syndrome in a family can change the entire system of relationships of the mother - both within the family and outside it. Firstly, the developmental features of a child with Down syndrome (possible somatic problems, reduced cognitive activity, poor response to communication, delayed development of a smile and eye-to-eye contact, etc.) can make it difficult for the mother to interact with the child and form an attachment with the child. her sides. Secondly, an increase in the mother's need for support may meet with different reactions from family members and immediate circles. Thirdly, society’s attitude towards a family with a child with developmental disabilities that are noticeable to others is often contradictory and “loaded” with prejudices. In this regard, the family’s need for new social contacts increases: communication with specialists, families in a similar situation, associations and organizations that provide assistance to people with developmental disabilities can become of great importance. Thus, the situation of giving birth and raising a child with Down syndrome is characterized by a number of features that can be reflected both in the specific content and dynamics of development of the internal position of his mother, and in the characteristics of child-parent interaction. Purpose of the study. Study of the development of the internal maternal position in mothers raising children in the first three years of life with Down syndrome. Object of study. Psychological characteristics of the mother that regulate her behavior in relations with a child with Down syndrome. Subject of study. Structure, content, dynamics and factors in the development of the internal maternal position in mothers raising children in the first three years of life with Down syndrome. Research hypotheses. 1) The situation of giving birth and raising a child with Down syndrome is characterized by a number of features that can manifest themselves in the specific content and dynamics of development of the internal position of his mother. 2) Features of the development of the mother’s internal position in the situation of giving birth and raising a child with Down syndrome may be reflected in the characteristics of her behavior in child-parent relationships and interaction with the child. 3) Features of the mother’s behavior in child-parent relationships and interaction with a young child with Down syndrome are one of the factors that determine the current level of mental development of the child. Research objectives: 1. Analysis and systematization of literature data on the research problem. 2. Analysis of the structure, content and characteristics of the internal maternal position in mothers raising infants and young children with Down syndrome. 3. Analysis of the experience of raising a healthy child as a factor determining the characteristics of the development of the internal position of mothers of children in the first three years of life with Down syndrome. 4. Study of the dynamics of development of the internal maternal position during the first three years of life of a child with Down syndrome. 5. Study of variants of the internal maternal position in mothers raising infants and young children with Down syndrome. 6. Study of the relationship between the characteristics of the internal maternal position, the characteristics of the mother’s behavior in child-parent relationships and the current level of mental development of the child. 7. Determination of directions for psychological assistance to mothers raising children in the first three years of life with Down syndrome. Methodological basis of the study. 1.The provisions of the cultural-historical theory of human personality development about the structure of the social situation of development and the “internal position” of the subject as the driving force for the development of new mental qualities (L.S. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontiev, L.I. Bozhovich, T.A. Nezhnova , O.A. Karabanova). 2. Provisions on the social nature of secondary disorders in the development of children and the theory of social compensation that underlie modern defectology (L.S. Vygotsky). 3. The concept of the genesis of communication in infancy and early age (A.Zaporozhets, M.I. Lisina). 4. The concept of the evolution of the attitude of society and the state towards people with developmental disabilities (N.N. Malofeev). 5. Provisions on the “internal maternal position” as a form of reflection, acceptance and mastery by a woman of the social position of the mother (E.I. Zakharova). Research methods: - theoretical methods: analysis, systematization and synthesis of literary data on the research topic; - empirical methods: color relationship test (A.M. Egkind, E.F. Bazhin); test “Emotional and value attitude towards motherhood” (G.A. Arina, E.B. Ayvazyan); modified Dembo-Rubinstein self-esteem research technique; PARI questionnaire (E. Sheffer, R. Bell); methods for diagnosing the neuropsychic development of children in the first three years of life (E.L. Frukht, K.L. Pechora, G.V. Pantyukhina); content analysis of video materials of interaction between mother and child in communication situations; interviewing mothers and specialists working with mother-child couples with Down syndrome; - data processing methods: quantitative, qualitative, statistical analysis. When statistically processing the data, the multifunctional Fisher's angular transformation test, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, the nonparametric Mania-Whitney test, and the factor analysis method were used. Data processing was carried out using the statistical package Statistika 6.0. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time: 1. The features of the internal maternal position of mothers in the situation of raising a child with Down syndrome in the first three years of life are described, characterizing the child’s image, ideas about upbringing and their own self-realization in the maternal role. 2. The influence of the experience of raising a healthy child on the internal maternal position of mothers raising a child with Down syndrome in infancy and early age was determined. 3. Two lines of development of the internal position of the mother of a child with Down syndrome in the first three years of his life are described: the dynamics of the child’s image and the dynamics of the image of herself as a mother. 4. Factors have been identified that determine the individual specificity of the content of the internal maternal position in mothers with children with Down syndrome; variants of the internal maternal position of mothers in the situation of raising a child with Down syndrome in the first three years of life are described, differing in the content of the emotional attitude towards motherhood, the child and themselves in the role of a mother, value orientations, ideas and expectations regarding motherhood and child-parent relationships. 5. The relationship between the variants of the internal maternal position and the level of activity of the mother’s participation in the process of rehabilitation of the child and the characteristics of her behavior in interaction with the child, which have a direct impact on the mental development of the child, is determined and described. 6. The main directions of psychological assistance to mothers raising children in the first three years of life with Down syndrome are formulated. Theoretical significance of the study. An analysis of the unique development of the internal maternal position in the conditions of raising an infant and young child with Down syndrome expands the subject field of special psychology, opening up new ways of searching for psychological mechanisms for the development of secondary deviations in the mental development of a problem child. The study of the internal maternal position as a personal neoplasm in the psyche of a woman expands the understanding of mental development in adulthood, which is relevant for general and developmental psychology. Study of the formation of the internal maternal position in the first three years of lifechild can contribute to the psychology of motherhood, which studies the features of the formation of child-parent relationships and interaction in the mother-child pair. Practical significance of the study. 1. The data obtained can be used in developing the content and methods of psychological assistance to families raising infants and young children with Down syndrome, and correction of deviations in the development of maternal relationships. 2. The developed methodological scheme can serve as the basis for drawing up a diagnostic program aimed at early detection of deviations in the development of the internal maternal position and assessing the effectiveness of psychocorrectional measures carried out by specialists of early intervention services. 3. The results of the study can be used to develop training programs and manuals for the training and retraining of psychologists for the system of early assistance to families with problem children. The reliability and validity of the results obtained are ensured by the theoretical and methodological validity of the study, the use of a set of complementary methods, their compliance with the goals and objectives of the work, and a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis; representativeness of the sample, the use of nonparametric methods of secondary mathematical and statistical processing of the results obtained. Approbation of the study. The work was discussed at meetings of the laboratory of content and methods of early assistance to children with identified developmental disabilities of the Institute of Correctional Pedagogy of the Russian Academy of Education, at a meeting of the Academic Council of the Institute of Corrective Pedagogy, and was presented at the V Republican Scientific and Practical Conference on Innovation Work (Saransk, 2005) “Managing the quality of education in the context of its modernization”; at the All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference (Saransk, 2005) “Current problems of education and pedagogy: dialogue between history and modernity”; at the II All-Russian Pedagogical Readings on Corrective Pedagogy and Special Psychology (Moscow, 2007); at the VII Republican Scientific and Practical Conference on Innovation Work (Saransk, 2007) “Managing the quality of education in the context of its modernization.” Organization of the study. The experimental part of the work was carried out on the basis of the laboratory of the content and methods of early assistance to children with identified developmental disabilities of the Institution of the Russian Academy of Education "Institute of Correctional Pedagogy" in Moscow, the specialized Center for early assistance for children with Down syndrome "Downside Up" in Moscow, the Center for Special Education Samara region, families raising infants and young children with Down syndrome, Saransk. Provisions submitted for defense. 1. The situation of giving birth and raising a young child with Down syndrome is reflected in the specific content of the internal maternal position: ideas about family relationships and one’s own self-realization in the maternal role reflect the inconsistency of the system of social expectations addressed to the mother of a “special child”; The child’s image and ideas about his upbringing are transformed during the family’s interaction with early intervention services. 2. The basis of individual variability in the internal maternal position in the conditions of raising a young child with Down syndrome is the differences in the emotional attitude towards motherhood, the child and oneself in the role of a mother, which, in turn, are determined by the content of individual value expectations and ideas associated with motherhood. 3. The internal position of the mother of a child with Down syndrome in the first three years of his life performs the function of regulating the mother’s behavior in child-parent relationships: the meaning of motherhood and the value of the child through cognitive and emotional components determine the specifics of the mother’s educational strategies, the degree of her activity in the child’s rehabilitation and characteristics her behavior in interaction with him, which, in turn, is reflected in the level of mental developmentchild. 4. The specific content of the internal position of the mother of a child with Down syndrome should be taken into account when designing programs for psychological and pedagogical support for families raising a young child with Down syndrome. Structure and scope of the dissertation. The dissertation consists of an introduction, 2 chapters, a conclusion, a list of references, including 213 titles, and appendices. The experimental data are presented in 35 tables, 2 figures, 15 diagrams. ...In conclusion, the results of the dissertation research are presented and conclusions are formulated. CONCLUSIONS: 1. The content of the internal position of mothers of children with Down syndrome at an early age is characterized by a number of features: • in the system of value expectations addressed to the child, not only the social viability of the child becomes significant, but also the satisfaction of his internal, psychological needs; • ideas about education are characterized by greater democracy, responsibility, and interest in relation to the child; • the content of the image of oneself as a mother is characterized by high individual variability and low orientation towards “normative”, socially desirable values ​​associated with motherhood. 2. The presence or absence of experience in raising an older healthy child is not related to the content of internal conflicts and the sign of the emotional attitude towards the child and oneself in the maternal role; The experience of motherhood determines the specifics of ideas about marital relationships, leadership positions and valuable maternal qualities. In the absence of motherhood experience, a special value is discovered in marital and warm parent-child relationships, which are experienced as a source of happiness and well-being, as well as the significance of the child and the changes associated with it. Having the experience of motherhood correlates with the value of self-realization and self-development in active work, both in the family and in the profession. 3. The age-related development of a child in the first three years of his life is not associated with the dynamics of internal conflicts in the structure of the internal maternal position. The age-related development of the child is reflected in the development of the structure of the child’s image (in the processes of individualization of value expectations addressed to the child, and in the processes of stereotyping the declared values ​​associated with the child); as well as in the transformation of the value content of the image of oneself in the maternal role, associated with changes in the social situation of development (in the second year of a child’s life, the value status of issues related to the choice of ways of further self-realization increases, and in the third year - issues related to dependence-independence in marital relationships). 4. The level of mental development of a child with Down syndrome in the first three years of life is qualitatively interconnected with the characteristics of the mother’s behavior - both within the framework of interaction with the child and in activities for his rehabilitation: • the insignificant depth of the lag in the child’s mental development from the age norm correlates with such characteristics mother’s behavior in interaction with the child, such as high sensitivity to the child’s signals, emotional responsiveness and close communication distance; and a significant depth of lag - with low sensitivity to the child’s signals, emotional detachment, and a large distance in communication; • a significant depth of lag in the child’s mental development from the age norm is correlated with the mother’s “refusal” of active actions to rehabilitate the child (“transfer” of the functions of raising the child to third parties; a formal attitude towards visiting early intervention centers; ignoring the recommendations of specialists, etc.) • the combination of the mother’s activity in the framework of the child’s rehabilitation with emotional detachment, a large distance in communication and low sensitivity to the child’s signals in interaction with him reflects the mother’s desire for the child to formally achieve normative development indicators and prevents the child from developing initiative in communication. 5. Features of mother’s behavior in child-parent relationships qualitatively.