Consultation for parents “16 questions for a speech therapist”
KHOCHIKYAN VERA
Consultation for parents “16 questions for a speech therapist”
Children with developmental disorders need qualified assistance from a special education teacher. But no less they need adequate help from their parents . In the absence of sufficiently effective and early screening of the child’s development, it is the parents who, suspecting a lag or disorder in development, should seek help from specialists and actively become involved in correctional work themselves. After all, no one can find the optimal approach to a child better than mom and dad, and no one is so keenly interested in the final result. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the competence of parents in matters of child development and health. As a practicing speech therapist working in a combined kindergarten, I often have to deal with a situation where parents of 4-5 , and sometimes 6-year-old children are unaware of the seriousness of speech and mental development disorders, believing that their child is fine . The proposal to transfer a child to speech therapy group frightens many parents and is perceived as a tragedy. It happens that they refuse speech therapy help under a variety of pretexts. Individual conversations with each mother are required to convince her of the advisability of transferring the child to a specialized group.
Question 1 . WHAT DOES A Speech Pathologist ?
Contrary to popular belief, a speech therapist not only “puts”
sounds.
The work of a speech therapist in a correctional group begins with the development of children's attention, visual and auditory perception (recognition and discrimination, memory and thinking. Without this, it is impossible to establish a full-fledged educational process. The tasks of a speech therapist include expanding and enriching children's vocabulary, developing coherent speech and teaching literacy , correction of grammatical errors. In addition to mastering the methods of correcting oral and written speech, the speech therapist is familiar with the basics of neuropathology, psychopathology, pathology of the hearing and speech organs.
Question 2. AT WHAT AGE IS IT TIME TO SHOW A CHILD TO A Speech Therapist ?
The opinion that a child should be brought to see a speech therapist at age five is outdated. By this age, the child’s speech has already been largely formed, since the favorable period for speech development is the age of 2–3 years. It is then that you need to ask whether everything is fine with the child’s speech. And even if the speech therapist at the clinic says that the child’s development is appropriate for his age, it is necessary to visit the speech therapy office to monitor the dynamics of speech formation. After all, what was the norm at three years old becomes a lag for four years. If the mother had problems during pregnancy or childbirth, and the child was seen by a neurologist, then it is necessary to especially carefully monitor the development of speech. Then mom won’t have to hear the question from the speech therapist : “Where have you been all this time?”
.
(up to a year)
are now being actively developed ; the system of assistance to children of such an early age is not yet sufficiently developed. And yet, the earlier a violation is detected, the more effective its correction will be.
Question 3 . CAN A MOTHER DETERMINE MYSELF IF A CHILD NEEDS ?
Children acquire correct speech gradually, over several years. Each age has its own norm. By the age of one year, a normally developing child already uses 3–4 “babbling”
words, understands individual words, correlates them with specific objects.
Understands simple instructions accompanied by gestures ( “where is mommy?”
,
“give me a pen
,
“no”
).
By the age of two, he uses sentences of two or three words, understands and correctly follows two-step instructions ( “go to the kitchen and bring a cup”
, has a vocabulary of at least 50 words. By the age of two, the child already correctly pronounces the sounds: p, b, m, f , v, t, d, n, k, d. If by the age of 2.5 a child has not formed elementary phrasal speech, it means that the rate of his speech development lags behind the norm. In the speech of a three-year-old child, the ability is gradually formed
correctly link different words into sentences. From a simple two-word phrase, he moves on to using a complex phrase using case forms of singular and plural nouns, uses simple prepositions in a sentence (on, in, under, for, with, from)
and conjunctions
(because, if, when)
.
By 3.5 years, the number of adjectives increases significantly. In the speech of a four-year-old child, complex and complex sentences are already encountered, prepositions are used (by, before, instead of, after, because of, from under, conjunctions (what, where, how much)
.
By this time, whistling sounds (s, z, ts, as well as s, e, and somewhat later hissing sounds (sh, zh, ch, sch)
.
The sounds r, l usually appear by 5–5.5 years. By the age of five, the child fully masters everyday vocabulary and uses general concepts (clothing, vegetables, etc.)
.
There are no longer omissions, rearrangements of sounds and syllables ; the only exceptions are some difficult unfamiliar words (excavator, etc.)
.
All parts of speech are used in the sentence. The child masters all the sounds of his native language and uses them correctly in speech. If children's speech differs significantly from these norms, you should contact a speech therapist . parents often get used to their child’s whining and do not notice many problems in his development, especially if he is the only one in the family. a speech therapist for the first time at three years of age and then annually for preventive purposes.
If your child’s babbling has faded, and the first words have not appeared even by the age of 2, then you should seek help earlier. Question 4 . CAN PARENTS CORRECT THE CHILD'S SPEECH THEMSELVES?
Undoubtedly, it is difficult to overestimate the role of the mother or other close people in the development of the child’s speech. Currently, a lot of books have appeared to help parents develop their child’s speech, for example:
• Maksakov A. I., Tumakova G. A. Learn by playing;
• Fomicheva M. F. Educating children in correct pronunciation;
• Shvaiko G.S. Games and gaming exercises for speech development.
Sometimes it is enough to attract the baby's attention to the correct pronunciation of a sound to get a positive effect. In other cases, it is first necessary to develop articulatory muscles with the help of articulatory gymnastics. However, if, despite your efforts, the child has not learned to pronounce sounds correctly within a month of lessons, it is best to turn to a professional. Further attempts to correct the pronunciation may aggravate the problem - for example, it may reinforce the child’s incorrect pronunciation or even discourage the child from studying.
Pay special attention to your own speech, since for children aged 1 to 6 years, parents’ is a role model and the basis for subsequent speech development. It is important to adhere to the following rules:
-you can’t “little”
, that is, speaking
a “babbling”
language or distorting sound pronunciation, imitating the speech of a child;
- it is desirable that your speech is always clear, fairly smooth, emotionally expressive, and moderate in tempo;
- when communicating with a child, do not overload your speech with difficult to pronounce words, incomprehensible expressions and phrases. The phrases should be fairly simple.
- before reading a book, new, unfamiliar words found in the text must not only be explained to the child in a form understandable to him, but also
illustrate in practice;
- you should ask only specific questions , do not rush to answer;
A child should not be punished for mistakes in speech, mimicked or corrected irritably.
It is useful to read poetic texts to children that are appropriate for their age. It is very important to develop auditory attention, mobility of the articulatory apparatus, and fine motor skills of the hand.
Question 5 . HOW TO GET TO CLASSES WITH A Speech Pathologist ?
Speech therapy assistance is provided by a speech therapist at a clinic , kindergarten or school. Sometimes speech therapists work in cultural centers and various centers. In fact, these are the same specialists with higher education in defectology. If you decide to see a speech therapist , you must first visit the clinic. The clinic's speech therapist advises parents on speech development issues , conducts clinical examinations in kindergartens and schools, and corrects simple speech disorders in children of all ages. He also refers the child in case of more pronounced violations to the Psychological-Medical-Pedagogical Commission (GPMPK)
to clarify the diagnosis and
(if necessary)
placement in the correctional group of the kindergarten.
In a kindergarten, if a speech therapist , classes with children can be conducted either at a speech center or in specialized groups. to the speech center . The speech therapist himself identifies such children and conducts classes with them several times a week. If there is such a group in the kindergarten, the speech therapist works only with the children enrolled in it. These are mainly children with severe speech impairments (general speech underdevelopment, stuttering)
.
For enrollment, it is necessary that the child’s age corresponds to the group being formed (usually 4 or 5 years at the beginning of training, there are the necessary certificates from clinic specialists (ophthalmologist, psychiatrist,
speech therapist , otolaryngologist) and a referral from the State Medical and Pedagogical Committee. Group formation usually takes place from January to May , classes begin on September 1 of the next school year. Training lasts 2 or 3 years.
The school’s speech therapist (if there is one)
selects children for classes. Part of the time he spends on correcting incorrect pronunciation of sounds, most of the time is spent correcting writing and reading disorders.
Question 6 . WILL MY CHILD'S SPEECH WORSE IN A Speech Therapy Group ?
It is impossible to completely exclude the possibility that at the initial stage the child will begin to imitate one of the children with whom he spends a significant part of his time and whose speech is much worse than his. But this happens rarely, and as you learn, both your own and acquired errors will disappear.
Question 7 . CAN A CHILD OVERCOME SPEECH PROBLEMS IF HE REMAINS SURROUNDED BY NORMALLY SPEAKING PEERS?
Of course, a normal language environment has a beneficial effect on the formation of a child’s speech. However, he is not always able to cope with problems on his own.
Proof of this is provided by adults who have speech problems. Therefore, if your baby has such severe speech development disorders that a speech therapy group , you should not risk his future.
Question 8 . MY OLDER CHILD WAS HELPED BY A Speech Pathologist IN SIX LESSONS, SO IS IT WORTH GOING TO A Speech Therapy Group ?
If speech impairment is expressed only in incorrect pronunciation of sounds, then it is enough to contact a speech therapist at the clinic . The process of speech correction for such a disorder can take from one month to a year, depending on the number of incorrectly pronounced sounds and individual characteristics
child. With general speech underdevelopment (GSD)
not only sounds are disrupted (sometimes up to 16 or more,
the syllabic structure of words : peter - now, masalet - airplane, agate - grapes. The dictionary is poor, verbal substitutions occur: helmet - cap, bottom - sole, comb (for a rooster)
- cap , saw - knife. The child has difficulty constructing a phrase, often with grammatical errors. Correction of such violations is possible only with daily complex medical and pedagogical influence in a correctional group and can take up to 2-3 years or more.
Question 9 . WILL STUDYING IN Speech Therapy Group HINDER YOU FROM ENTERING A PRESTIGIOUS SCHOOL?
The fact that a child attends a speech therapy group is not recorded in any document presented upon admission to school, and is not a contraindication for studying in a public school. If a child overcomes his speech problems by the time he enters school and has the appropriate abilities, he can enter any educational institution.
Question 10 . WHAT ARE THE PROS AND DISADVANTAGES OF VISITING A Speech Therapy Group ?
The advantages include the small size of the group - 10-12 people. In such conditions, the risk of infectious diseases is reduced, the child is less tired during the day, and teachers have the opportunity to pay attention to each child. Experienced educators with pedagogical education and those who have completed special speech therapy courses , as well as a speech therapist with a higher education in defectology, work with children. Corrective and developmental classes are conducted with the child every day, aimed at developing attention, memory, thinking, general and fine motor skills, and breathing. In terms of their level of preparation for school, graduates of speech therapy groups often surpass children who attended mass groups. The child learns to listen to the teacher,
he develops learning skills. In addition, parents need to keep a notebook together with their child and complete the speech therapist’s .
Question 11 . THE CHILD HAS A DIAGNOSIS OF STD IN THE MEDICAL CARD. WHAT IT IS?
A diagnosis of “speech development delay”
(SSD)
means that the child’s speech development is slower than expected. This may be due to hereditary reasons (father or mother also started talking late, frequent illnesses. In this case, all the body’s forces go to fight
illness, and not on development, including speech. Speech development can also be delayed if the child is not spoken to or read enough. Radio and television do not help the formation of speech. At the initial stages of speech development, children must not only hear speech, but also see the articulation of an adult . Speech should be simple, clear and accessible. If speech development delay is due to these reasons, specialist intervention is not required. It is enough to create favorable conditions for the child to develop. However, it happens that delayed speech development is caused by harmful effects on the mother during pregnancy, childbirth or in the first years of the child’s life - stress, infections, injuries, which parents sometimes are not even aware of. Then the development of speech is not only delayed, but also disrupted. It is no longer possible to do without medical and pedagogical assistance. FGR diagnosed in children under 3–3.5 years of age. After this age, and sometimes even earlier, if the child’s speech still does not correspond to the age norm, we can speak not of delayed, but of impaired speech development. In this case, you need to contact a neurologist and speech therapist .
Question 12 . THE CHILD READS AND WRITES POORLY. WHAT TO DO?
Reading is a complex activity that involves technical skills and understanding the meaning of what is read. At the beginning of learning to read, a child learns to translate a written word into a spoken word: recognize a letter and correlate it with a sound, combine several letters into a syllable and several syllables into a word . These technical operations absorb all the child’s attention. At the same time, understanding the text being read is difficult. Gradually, technical operations are automated and the baby concentrates on understanding the meaning of the text. Similar problems can arise with writing. Until the end of the first grade, one cannot talk about reading and writing disorders; they only talk about unformed skills. But if persistent omissions, substitutions, and rearrangements of letters remain later, you should urgently seek advice from a speech therapist . Difficulty reading and
writing can be in left-handed people, in children with impaired oral speech, hearing, vision, and in those children who have been diagnosed with MMD (minimal cerebral dysfunction)
.
Question 13 . HOW TO CORRECTLY TEACH A CHILD TO READ AND WRITE?
The basis of learning to read is not the letter, but the sound. Before showing your child a new letter, for example m, you should teach him to hear the sound m in syllables and words. At first, you should name both the sounds and the letters corresponding to them the same way - m, b, and not em or be. By saying this, we pronounce two sounds - e and m. This only confuses children. Another serious mistake is in letter-by-letter reading, that is, the child first names the letters: m, a - and only after that adds the syllable itself: ma. This skill of incorrect reading is very persistent and can be corrected with great difficulty. Even if a child can read words of three or four letters in this way, reading more complex words will be impossible. Correct reading is reading in syllables (until fluent reading is formed)
.
At first, let the child draw out the first letter of the syllable for a long time until he recognizes the next letter. The main thing is that he does not stop after the first letter and reads the letters of the syllable together. First of all, children are taught to read syllables like ap, ut, ik, etc. Then they move on to syllables like ma, but, wu. After the skill of reading syllables , they move on to reading words like poppy, moon, stick, etc. as the complexity of the words increases. If in oral speech a child replaces some sounds, for example, sh with s (sapka)
or r with l (lyba), it is not recommended to teach the corresponding letters with him until the sound pronunciation is completely corrected. Otherwise, an incorrect connection between the sound and the denoting may be recorded. its letter. Before teaching a child to write, it is necessary to form a correct grip on the pen. Many children do this incorrectly. Hands should lie on the table so that the elbow of the right hand (
for right-handers)
protrudes slightly beyond the edge of the table and the hand moves freely along the line, and the left lay on the table and held the sheet. The right hand should be
facing the table surface. The fulcrum points for it are the nail phalanges of the slightly bent little and ring fingers, as well as the lower part of the palm. The fountain pen is placed on the upper, nail part of the middle finger, and the nail phalanges of the thumb and index fingers hold it at a distance of 1.5–2 cm from the end of the rod. The handle should be light, not thick, with a ribbed surface. Teach your child to navigate on a sheet of paper: show the upper right, lower left corner, middle of the sheet, etc. Then they teach you to see the lines, find the beginning and end of the line.
Question 14 . A 2-YEAR OLD CHILD KNOWS ALL THE LETTERS BUT WILL NOT LEARN TO READ
To master the analytical-synthetic method of reading (this is the method taught to read in kindergarten and school, it is not enough to know all the letters. It is necessary that the child can decompose a heard word into sounds (analysis)
and connect sounds into syllables, and syllables into words
(synthesis)
.
This skill is formed no earlier than four years of age, subject to systematic training. You can teach reading before the age of four using the global reading method. In this case, the child remembers the image of the whole word without dividing it into its component parts.
However, one can hardly expect that he will be able to remember a large number of words. In addition, the global reading method can only read familiar words and sentences. Question 15 . HOW TO HELP A CHILD IF HE FORGETS, CONFUSES, OR WRITES LETTERS WRONG?
If a child writes letters in the wrong direction (in a mirror, he confuses the arrangement of letter elements, most often this is a consequence of unformed spatial representations. Check whether your child can correctly show his right ear, left leg, etc., put together pictures from six cubes (each of which contains a fragment of a picture)
.
If he finds it difficult, then this is a consequence of the underdevelopment of analysis and synthesis. Games such as “Tangram”
.
"Pythagoras"
,
“Fold the square”
, Koos cubes, various
construction sets .
It happens that a child confuses letters that are completely different in spelling: m and b, t, etc. The reason is that the child has difficulty distinguishing the corresponding sounds by ear. At the same time, his physical hearing may be absolutely normal. Teach your child to listen for difficult sounds in syllables and words. To make it easier for a child to remember letters, the following techniques are recommended: - an adult writes “difficult”
a large letter (5–6 cm, the child colors or shades it;
cutting out letters along a contour drawn by an adult;
modeling letters from plasticine; "writing"
a broad gesture of all studied letters in the air;
comparison of a letter and its elements with familiar objects, other letters: the letter y - bunny ears, etc.;
tracing with a finger a letter cut out of fine sandpaper or “velvet”
paper, recognition of letters by touch with eyes closed;
laying out letters from various materials: braid, buttons, matches, etc.;
tracing letters written by an adult;
writing letters using reference points set by adults.
Question 16 . CAN MY CHILD STUTTER?
About 2% of children stutter, that is, one in fifty. Moreover, stuttering occurs four times more often in boys than in girls. Stuttering usually occurs between 2 and 5 years of age. Parents often blame fear, illness, or other stress as the cause. In fact, all children are afraid of animals or something else, but they do not stutter. Consequently, the real reason is the weakening of the central nervous system, and fear serves only as a trigger. Stuttering can be triggered by a sudden change for the worse in the family situation or established routine. Cases of stuttering are common
children with precocious speech, parents read them too many poems, fairy tales, and make constant requests: “tell me”
,
“repeat”
- or they force you to speak for show.
One of the reasons for stuttering is an unbearable speech load (repetition of incomprehensible and difficult words; recitation of poems that are complex in content and large in volume; memorizing fairy tales and stories that are not appropriate for age and development). Sometimes, in children who started speaking late (at the age of about three years), stuttering occurs simultaneously with the rapid development of speech. It can appear in children with a slowly developing motor sphere. Such children are awkward, do not serve themselves well, chew sluggishly, and have underdeveloped fine senses. hand motor skills (strength, dexterity, mobility of the hand and fingers)
.
They are not recommended to watch a lot of TV, especially at night. You should not overload your child with a large number of impressions (cinema, reading, watching TV shows, etc.)
during the period of recovery after an illness. Failure to comply with the regime and requirements of proper education at this time can easily lead to stuttering.
You cannot intimidate or punish a child by leaving him alone in a room, especially a dark one. Before going to bed, it is better to play quiet, calm games. Do not try to get an answer from a child when he is crying, sobbing convulsively. This can cause stuttering. Calm him down first. Stuttering sometimes occurs as an imitation if someone around you stutters. The child suddenly falls silent and refuses to talk (this can last from two hours to a day, after which he begins to speak again, but stuttering).
In order to help your child in time, it is important not to miss the first signs of stuttering: the use of extra sounds (a, and)
;repetition of the first
syllables or whole words at the beginning of a phrase;
forced stops in the middle of a word or phrase; difficulties before starting speech. If signs of stuttering occur, you should contact a psychoneurologist.
Recommended reading
If a child does not speak, until what age is this normal?
As for children's silence and reluctance to speak, then, of course, in this matter everything is very individual. But if speech does not appear even at the age of three, it is worth contacting a speech therapist. What can you do at home? I highly recommend reading poetry and singing children's songs without finishing the ending. Naturally, before this, you sing a song or read the entire poem more than once so that the child learns and remembers them, and then you begin to leave them unsaid. This way you disinhibit him from the rhythm, and when you don’t finish the last syllable, the baby has a great need to finish the rhyme. Our brain is designed in such a way that it always strives to complete a melody or poem if it ends on an unstable note. Melodies that end on open syllables are very useful for speech development. For example, a children's song: “Far, far away, in the meadow they are grazing…”, where the parent will sing only the first two syllables of the word “far”, and the child will finish.
Anarthria
Anarthria is understood as the absence of speech associated with organic damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, leading to paralysis of the speech motor muscles. Most often, anarthric disorders occur in severe forms of cerebral palsy. The inability to “speak” with anarthria is explained by damage to the parts of the brain that control the movements of the muscles of the speech apparatus - the tongue, lips, cheeks, palate, lower jaw, pharynx.
Damage to the brain structures that control the motor mechanism of speech can contribute to delayed maturation and disrupt the functioning of other structures. This leads to the fact that anarthria can be combined with other speech disorders, for example, alalia, which complicates special correctional assistance and the prognosis of the child’s speech development. You may be distressed by the fact that your child cannot speak like other children. Experts will help you find ways that will teach your child to communicate with you using gestures, pictograms (drawings - diagrams) or other means of communication available to him.
What are the main mistakes parents make when wanting to help their child speak faster?
There are two common opinions. The first of them is that you cannot talk to children and talk in childish language. I believe that it is useful to use such language, especially in play, so that the child learns to repeat and pronounce various syllables. We, speech therapists, ourselves use children's language in our work, especially with non-speaking children. The second piece of advice given to parents whose children have speech problems is: “Talk to them more.” There are children with basic listening speech disorder who simply “switch off” when you start talking to them a lot. On the contrary, a restrictive regime is recommended for such a child, in which an adult talks to him as clearly as possible. And if he asks the child for something, then he should not say quickly: “Please open this door,” or “Come on, come on, bring me a bucket.” And clearly: “open the door” and “bring the bucket.” Not for everyone, but for some children, adult verbosity does become a problem.
Article on the topic
7 commandments for parents: what to do if your child is silent
Why form the correct pronunciation?
Because sound pronunciation that is not corrected in time can cause writing and reading problems. And in adolescence, problems with speech can be perceived as a real misfortune and form painful complexes. Pronunciation defects make a person’s words “noisy” and often cause arbitrary rejection from the interlocutor. Correct speech sounds more convincing than broken speech. Is it possible to correct pronunciation as an adult? Yes, but it's more difficult to do.
Burda Media
What should parents be wary of regarding their child’s speech development?
If this is not the first child, then most likely the parent himself will see some difficulties. If the baby is the first, then often mothers and fathers may not notice that something is going wrong. In this case, you can look at other children or listen to the opinions of strangers, but not too alarming or uninterested. You need to pay attention to the child’s behavior - is it different from the behavior of other children at this age? How targeted is it? Does your child have problems concentrating? How does he establish contact with adults, does he look them in the eyes? Signs of autism need to be checked. Be sure to pay attention to your understanding of speech. A common mistake parents make is that they often believe that the child understands speech, but in fact he guesses its content from the context. For example, a parent asks: “Bring me a glass,” and he himself points his finger at the glass, without noticing it. The fact is that when a child does not understand words, the parent unconsciously begins to duplicate them with gestures. In order to check whether a 2–2.5 year old child is able to understand speech, you can conduct the following experiment. Place the ball (or any other object) in a place where it doesn't usually go, such as the bathroom. And ask the baby to go there and bring it to you. If the child follows such purely verbal instructions, then everything is in order with understanding speech.
My child started to stutter
Complaints that a child began to stutter almost simultaneously with the beginning of speaking or at the age of 2-3 years are quite often heard by specialists. Speech disruption is most often associated with the load that increases during this period on the child’s central nervous system. That is why these periods are called critical periods of speech development . The causes that provoke the occurrence of stuttering can be short-term or long-term psychological trauma, fear, somatic weakness of the child, and imitation of the speech of a stutterer. Stuttering is called primary if no more than two months have passed since the first manifestations.
If hesitation persists for more than two months, secondary phenomena arise - disorders of the central nervous system and physical health , disorders of speech and general motor skills (motor tension, stiffness of movements, incoordination). If stuttering occurs, it is recommended to immediately consult a specialist, since the greatest success is achieved when treatment is carried out in the first months after the onset of a speech disorder. First of all, you should contact a neurologist, psychologist or speech therapist. General recommendations boil down to limiting stimuli from the external environment and eliminating traumatic experiences.
A neurologist prescribes drug treatment using anticonvulsants, sedatives and hypnotics. During this period, sleep should be longer. Warm herbal baths are recommended before bed. Relatives need to create a calm home environment and eliminate stimulating stimuli (watching TV shows, playing on the computer). You should not draw the child’s attention to hesitations, much less scold or correct him. Come up with ways in which you can communicate with each other without speech - gestures, drawing pictures. Try to keep your child busy with calm games, construction, and modeling. Encourage your child to speak in a whisper, make sure that the pace of your speech is calm and the speech itself is smooth. Follow the recommendations of specialists who provide systematic counseling to the child.
