Proposed Program Based on Art Therapy Through Applications in Handicrafts to Develop Manual and Social Skills for Children with Down syndrome

The societies interest in raising, educating and rehabilitating individuals with special needs is increasing, therefore they affirmed their right to integrate into the various activities of society, and prepared programs for the prevention of disability and help them in developing their abilities, achieve themselves and raise the level of their adaptation to the maximum possible degree, the importance of the current research appears in the benefit from handicrafts that are characterized by the diversity of their raw materials, which enable the child to express himself through them, to have self-esteem, and communicate with those around him without the need to reveal what is inside him in words, It develops physical and manual skills, motor functions, and the development of the forces of coordination and sensory-motor synergy, the research relied on the descriptive-analytical approach in the theoretical framework by studying the mental, physical and psychological features of Down syndrome, it presented art therapy and its relation to the field of handicrafts through the various materials that can be used, It relied on the semi-experimental approach in the practical framework by designing a proposed program to develop manual and social skills for children with Down syndrome -simple mental retardation- in the age (9-12 years),the research problem is that the child with Down syndrome has difficulty in adapting as a result of his weak manual and social skills.