Dotyk – przestrzeń spotkania z osobą głęboko upośledzoną umysłowo

Abstract

The sense of touch develops and becomes functional as the first one. Skin (the organ of feeling the touch, embrace, pain, warmth and cold) constitutes an important sensory system of our organism. Without its functions, it would be impossible for us to survive, it is particularly important in the first stage of life when other senses are not yet fully developed. This receptor is also important in the functioning of adults as 80% of stimuli from the environment get to human organism through skin. The touch soothes, lowers the level of stress hormone, regulates the breath and blood circulation as well as digestion and metabolism. The touch is the main, sometimes even the only, means of world exploration for people with severe intellectual disability; in cooperation with other perception systems it dynamises their development, enhances the feeling of one’s own abilities and, above all, facilitates social interaction. Physical closeness and tactile contact ensure emotional balance, reduce fear and negative emotions as well as release positive emotional states (J. Kielin 1999; W. Pilecka 2006). The sense of touch is used in numerous rehabilitation and therapeutic methods in work with people with severe mental retardation. In the process of realization of the therapeutic aims, however, it is necessary to remember that, above all, the touch expresses the presence and it is often the only way to build a relationship with a person with severe mental retardation.