Recently, more and more often you can hear from the parents of the kids that they are worried about the speech development of the child. Someone believes that the baby speaks little, his vocabulary is insufficient and does not meet age standards; others believe that he speaks a lot, but the pronunciation is fuzzy and slurred. Someone does not like the pace of speech of a preschooler, but there are also such parents who record the absolute absence of speech in their little child. Is it worth it to start worrying and whether the conversational level of a preschool child corresponds to age norms, only specialists in children's speech pathologies can correctly determine.
Causes of attenuation of speech progress of young children
The kid grows up and begins to speak the first simple words. This pleases parents very much, they are proud of such successes and willingly demonstrate the ability of a little man to all relatives. A little time passes, the child masters upright posture, and mothers are already rushing to specialists, demanding a speech therapist consultation. The main problem, in their opinion, is that the baby suddenly stopped talking, his speech no longer develops. This opinion is erroneous, children's psychologists and speech therapists explain the reason for this apparent delay by the fact that the development of children of early and younger preschool age is wave-like. With the emergence of new skills, such as upright posture, the conscious manipulation of objects, the appearance of attenuation is already acquired. In fact, the child’s speech continues to actively develop, accumulating a passive dictionary and promoting the development of intellectual functions. The task of parents at this stage is to continue an active communicative effect on the child, to read more, to tell small tales, to memorize short poems. Over time, the child’s speech activity will resume, and he will accumulate communication skills at a record pace.
Characterization of the speech problems of a preschooler
Concern should be caused by the so-called comprehensive speech disorders, which are often diagnosed by the age of three. Specialists identify a number of specific disorders that indicate serious problems for a preschooler. The belated beginning of speech as a whole is considered to be the first and most common: the first elementary words appear in the dictionary by the age of three or four, sometimes even by five. The explicit identification of agrammatisms in the reasoning of the baby and the imperfection of the structure of utterances are distinguished by specialists as the second manifestation of violations. The third thing that can and should alert adults is the inability to express their thoughts with the correct understanding of the message addressed to him. And the last, fourth sign, may be the incomprehensibility and slurredness of colloquial speech of a preschooler. The presence of such pathologies makes it possible to assume a general underdevelopment of speech in the baby, however, only a certified speech therapist can establish the final diagnosis .
Features of the development of communication skills in children with speech pathologies
It is difficult to determine the existing deviations in the development of the child without the participation of a speech therapist or a child psychologist, since parents who do not have a special education run the risk of erring in their assumptions. Communicativeness of a preschooler who has complex speech pathologies is much less developed than in babies whose speech develops normally, or in those who have OHP level 3. The characterization of disorders in such children is very multifaceted: there are such pathologies as distortion of pronunciation, violation of the structure of syllables (almost always towards its decrease). The development of a child’s speech with a general underdevelopment of level 3 is much higher. These preschoolers noticeable the formation of expanded phrasal speech, but at the same time, elements of underdevelopment are pronounced. Communication in such babies is difficult due to a lack of understanding by others. They speak fluently only in the society of those people who can concretize and explain what they said. To date, OHR 2-3 levels are considered the most common speech pathologies of modern children. For a number of reasons, the officially recorded number of such pathologies is growing every year.
The specifics of speech of children with OHP
Experts do not recommend independently diagnosing a lag in the formation of a communicative function. Despite the presence of common signs, each baby has its own individual specificity and cause of the violation. The delay in the development of speech of a child of preschool age refers to complex violations, this will be confirmed by every speech therapist. OHR level 3 is characterized by visible failures in the communication system: violations of vocabulary and grammar, phonetics. At the same time, the kid is actively trying to use sentences of varying degrees of complexity: complex, complex, simple common. The component itself may be retained, but is often broken due to missing or rearranging structural components. In the dictionary of a preschooler, two-syllable or three-syllable words begin to appear, which the kid likes to use, he uses them with pleasure, carefully speaks. The grammatical structure of speech is clearly incomplete, and errors can be inconsistent. A preschooler can pronounce the same phrase or sentence both with violations, and the next time correctly. Lexical imperfections are also easily fixed, despite the visible quantitative growth of the vocabulary. The kid does not make it difficult to pronounce complex words. For example, instead of saying “cyclist,” the child will say “uncle rides.” Such a preschooler’s speech is often replaced by replacing the name of the whole subject with words denoting its separate parts, and vice versa, depending on what is easier to pronounce. If he finds it difficult to say a complex word, he can also replace it with the name of the species, and vice versa: instead of “sparrow” the baby will say “bird”, instead of “trees” he can say “Christmas tree”. Often in their speech, children with OHP level 3 allow mutual substitution of signs, for example: high, wide - this is “large”, short - “small”.
Features of the level of development of coherent speech
Particular attention is paid to children's specialists in the development of coherent speech in preschool children, both monologic and dialogical. In elementary school, teachers are increasingly faced with the problem of the inability of the student to coherently build his answer, to formulate an independent statement. Often parents, too carried away by the struggle for the purity of sound pronunciation, miss such a significant aspect as the formation of a coherent storytelling ability. And only after having visited a speech therapist, they begin to understand the importance of such an omission. Coherent statements of a child with developmental delay are distinguished by a specific originality. It’s quite difficult for a kid to build complex and detailed phrases. The storyline of the story is constantly interrupted due to the loss of significant semantic elements. Independent speech activity is markedly reduced, often the baby finds it difficult to translate words from a passive dictionary into an active one. It is hard for a child with OHR level 3 to select words to describe his favorite toys, usually he is limited to mean definitions and short phrases.
The peculiarity of phonemic perception
The speech development of preschoolers with disorders of communicative functions is characterized by insufficiency and imperfection: such children perform an exercise to select an image with a given sound in its name with outside help, or they can not do it at all. It is difficult for them to differentiate vowels in different positions in words. Any manipulations with phonemes are difficult. The games “Catch the sound”, “Catch the syllable”, “Catch the word” do not cause any interest in the kids, as it is difficult for them to follow the rules, they are constantly late and behind other children who are developing normally. Difficulties can also be caused by the simple “vowel-consonant” differentiation, which is why the child also tries to avoid games aimed at reinforcing such a skill.
Correction of speech pathologies
After examining the baby with a children's speech therapist, a specialist can diagnose “OHP, level 3”. The characteristics of the set of symptoms clearly make it clear the correct direction of the corrective and rehabilitative effects aimed at eliminating speech development disorders. A qualified pediatric speech therapist also plans - and should - deal with the situation. First of all, corrective treatment is aimed at understanding and comprehension of speech, eliminating violations of vocabulary and grammar. Equally important is given to the correct sound pronunciation, structuring of sentences and coherent statements. In working with preschoolers who have a general underdevelopment of speech at level 3, attention is also paid to the formation of the ability to independently build phrasal statements used in an expanded function. Experts recommend preparing enough time to improve writing skills and reading skills after fixing some dynamics in the correction of speech problems.
Psychological problems of children with speech underdevelopment
Correction of speech deficiencies in preschool children is usually complex. In addition to speech therapy, the child also needs the help of a child psychologist. Due to complex speech disorders, the baby often also has problems with concentration. It is difficult for him to concentrate on the task, as well as to keep his attention for a long time on the same object. The performance of such children is significantly reduced, they quickly get tired of learning activities. The psychologist’s task is to organize the psychological support of the baby during the period of speech therapy correction. First of all, attention should be paid to increasing the level of motivation of preschoolers with a diagnosis of OHR level 3 to speech therapy classes and training. It will also be important to organize a corrective psychological effect aimed at developing the ability to concentrate attention, hold it for the necessary amount of time, and expand the volume. Experts recommend that, given the psychological characteristics of children with complex speech impairments, classes should be carried out with several children, dividing one group into two or three subgroups. The psychologist can also plan and conduct individual lessons with preschoolers who have problems with speech, it is also possible to combine them into subgroups. You should also pay attention to the level of self-esteem of the child: underestimated will impede quick success due to disbelief in their own success and unwillingness to help themselves. That is why children's specialists recommend a comprehensive correction of speech deficiencies in a specially organized children's institution called the "Child Development Center".
The focus of complex corrective action
As a result of the implementation of systemic psychological and pedagogical work aimed at stimulating the baby's speech centers, developing cognitive and volitional spheres, the level of mental and communicative development of a preschooler should show positive dynamics. First of all, this should be noticeable in the improvement of the ability to correctly perceive speech addressed to him in accordance with existing age standards. You should seek from the child the maximum correctness of the sound design of words, the transfer of their structure. The improvement and development of active communicativeness occurs due to the formation of the ability to use sentences of varying complexity, to combine phrases into a coherent monologue. The simplest retelling skills, as a rule, are also subject to improvement and corrective action. ONR (3rd level of speech development) is distinguished by its inability to retell the text it has heard, even if it is small. The task of teachers at the stage of correction is to teach such a skill and consolidate success. Preschoolers, developing normally, willingly enter into verbal interaction with each other in the form of dialogue. The formation of a child’s communicative speech with developmental delay is imperfect, therefore, he must also learn to form the ability to maintain a conversation in the course of the correctional work conducted with him. The pedagogical impact, as a rule, also involves the formation of the ability to formulate independent statements, using case endings, and correctly matching words in sentences.
Organization of complex corrective action
The pedagogical approach to correcting speech deficiencies of a modern preschooler is a rather complicated process and requires special and structural implementation, especially for children who are diagnosed with OHP level 3. Correctional work is most effectively carried out in specialized preschool institutions, taking into account the planned interaction of all narrow children's specialists and qualified teachers. The mode of stay of the child in such an institution is sparing and corrective. In addition to the underdevelopment of speech at various levels, the diagnosis of dysarthria also occurs. OHR level 3 is often a concomitant problem. Teachers working with such pupils build corrective therapy taking into account pathology, making it more structured and complex. The diagnosis of dysarthria has the right to make a pediatric neurologist, which takes into account the conclusion of a speech therapist. Most often, the so-called erased form of pathology is found, which is a little easier and faster to correct if medical treatment is also added to the corrective effect. The medications themselves and the dosage are prescribed by a pediatric neurologist or psychiatrist. Institutions that carry out targeted specialized correction of deficiencies in the communicative function of babies, as a rule, have the status of "Center for Child Development." The focus of the center can be different: from corrective action on children in order to improve the child’s speech to correct the deficiencies of the intellectual function. Specialists working in such institutions draw up special programs and corrective routes for students, which, however, vary somewhat in complexity and duration of classes, depending on the level of violation. Most common in children with OHP level 3. The characteristic of the baby with such a deviation takes into account all aspects of the disorders, both speech and psychological.
Recommendations for parents from children's specialists
Faced with the problem of speech disorder in their child, parents should not despair. The diagnosis of a speech therapist or even a pediatric neurologist is not a sentence, but simply a signal for action. The causes of communicative deviations from the norm are various, including genetic and neurological, and their nature can be determined only with the help of a special examination conducted by relevant specialists. Strict adherence to the recommendations, as a rule, is the key to success in the fight for the purity and correctness of speech in the baby. Do not also become in a pose and argue with teachers of preschool institutions, who begin to suspect that the child has a pathology called OHP (level 3). The characterization and description of the conversational disorders of the baby, compiled by the teachers of the child care facility, will help specialists quickly figure out the degree and nature of the pathology. In turn, this will help to quickly and efficiently organize and carry out the correction of the existing deviation. The success of correcting the shortcomings of the communicative function of speech often depends on understanding the depth of the problem and the degree of responsibility for its elimination by the parents themselves. In close cooperation with correctionists and teachers, with the rigorous implementation of all recommendations and tasks, you can count on the success and deliverance of the baby from such troubles. The process of correction and rehabilitation, as a rule, is quite long and painstaking, it can take more than one month or a year.
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