Subject, object, goals and objectives of speech therapy. Intrasystem and intersystem connections of speech therapy, its interaction with related disciplines

Speech therapy is the science of speech development disorders, their overcoming and prevention through special correctional training and education.

The term speech therapy is derived from the Greek words: logos (word, speech), peideo (educate, teach), which translated means “speech education.”

The subject of speech therapy as a scientific discipline is the study of the patterns of training and education of persons with speech disorders and associated deviations in mental development. Speech therapy is divided into preschool, school and adult speech therapy.

The main tasks of speech therapy are as follows:

studying the patterns of special education and upbringing of children with speech disorders;
determination of the prevalence and symptoms of speech disorders in children of preschool and school age;
study of the structure of speech disorders and the influence of speech disorders on the mental development of the child;
development of methods for pedagogical diagnosis of speech disorders and typology of speech disorders;
development of scientifically based methods for eliminating and preventing various forms of speech impairment;
organization of speech therapy assistance.

The practical aspect of speech therapy is to prevent, identify and eliminate speech disorders. Theoretical and practical tasks of speech therapy are interconnected.

The main goal of speech therapy is to develop a scientifically based system of training, education and re-education of people with speech disorders, as well as the prevention of speech disorders.

To solve these problems, the following is necessary:

— the use of interdisciplinary connections and the involvement of many specialists who study speech and its disorders (psychologists, neuropsychologists, neurophysiologists, linguists, teachers, doctors of various specialties, etc.);

— ensuring the relationship between theory and practice, connecting scientific and practical institutions for faster implementation of the latest scientific achievements into practice;

— implementation of the principle of early detection and overcoming speech disorders;

— dissemination of speech therapy knowledge among the population for the prevention of speech disorders.

The solution to these problems determines the course of speech therapy intervention.

The main focus of speech therapy is speech development, correction and prevention of speech disorders. In the process of speech therapy work, the development of sensory functions is provided; development of motor skills, especially speech motor skills; development of cognitive activity, primarily thinking, memory processes, attention; formation of the child’s personality with simultaneous regulation and correction of social relationships; impact on the social environment.

The organization of the speech therapy process makes it possible to eliminate or mitigate both speech and psychophysical disorders, contributing to the achievement of the main goal of pedagogical influence - the education of a person.

Speech therapy intervention should be aimed at both external and internal factors causing speech disorders. It is a complex pedagogical process aimed primarily at the correction and compensation of speech impairments.

The connection between speech therapy and other sciences

Speech therapy is closely related to many sciences. In order to successfully correct and prevent various speech disorders and to have a comprehensive impact on the individual, it is necessary to know the symptoms of speech disorders, their etiology, mechanisms, the relationship between speech and non-speech symptoms in the structure of speech disorders.

There are intrasystem and intersystem connections. Intrasystemic ones include connections with pedagogy, various branches of special pedagogy: deaf pedagogy, typhlopedagogy, oligophrenopedagogy; methods of teaching native language, mathematics; with speech therapy rhythm, general and special psychology. Intersystem connections include connections with medical, biological and linguistic sciences.

The natural scientific psychophysiological basis of speech therapy is the doctrine of the patterns of formation of conditioned reflex connections, the doctrine of P.K. Anokhin about functional systems, the doctrine of the dynamic localization of mental functions (I.M. Sechenov, I.P. Pavlov, A.R. Luria) and modern neuropsycholinguistic theory of speech activity.

Speech therapy uses knowledge of general anatomy and physiology, neurophysiology about the mechanisms of speech, the cerebral organization of the speech process, the structure and functioning of analyzers that take part in speech activity.

To understand the mechanisms of speech disorders and identify patterns of the correction process, knowledge about the dynamic localization of higher mental functions and the cerebral organization of speech is important.

Subject, object, purpose and objectives of speech therapy.

I. _ Subject, object, purpose and objectives of speech therapy.

The study of speech disorders, their prevention and overcoming through education and training is carried out by a special pedagogical science - speech therapy.

Speech therapy as a science has important theoretical and practical significance, which is determined by the social essence of language, speech, the close connection between the development of speech, thinking and all mental activity of the child.

Speech function is one of the most important mental functions of a person. In the process of speech development, higher forms of cognitive activity and the ability to conceptual thinking are formed.

Speech therapy

is the science of speech disorders, methods of their prevention, identification and elimination by means of special training and education.

The subject of speech therapy as a science is speech disorders and the process of training and education of persons with speech disorders.

The object of study is a person (individual) suffering from a speech disorder.

The goal of speech therapy is to develop a scientifically based system of training, education and re-education of people with speech disorders, as well as the prevention of speech disorders.

Objectives of speech therapy:

1. Study of the ontogenesis of speech activity in various forms of speech disorders.

2. Determination of the prevalence, symptoms and severity of speech disorders.

3. Identification of the dynamics of spontaneous and directed development of children with speech disorders, as well as the nature of the influence of speech disorders on the formation of their personality, on mental development, on the implementation of various types of behavioral activities.

4. Study of the features of speech formation and speech disorders in children with various developmental disabilities (with impairments of intelligence, hearing, vision and the musculoskeletal system).

5. Clarification of the etiology, mechanisms, structure and symptoms of speech disorders.

6. Development of methods for pedagogical diagnosis of speech disorders.

7. Systematization of speech disorders.

8. Development of principles, differentiated methods and means of eliminating speech disorders.

9. Improving methods for preventing speech disorders. 10.Development of issues related to the organization of speech therapy assistance

In the indicated tasks of speech therapy, both its theoretical and practical orientation are determined. Its theoretical aspect is the study of speech disorders and the development of scientifically based methods for their prevention, identification and overcoming. The practical aspect is the prevention, identification and elimination of speech disorders. The theoretical and practical tasks of speech therapy are closely related.

Speech therapy has historically developed as an integrative field of knowledge about mental and, more specifically, human speech activity, speech and language mechanisms that ensure the formation of speech communication in normal and pathological conditions. In this regard, speech therapy is based on neurology, neuropsychology and neurolinguistics, psychology, pedagogy and a number of other sciences. These scientific disciplines allow speech therapy to scientifically substantiate the mechanisms and structure of speech disorders, develop and use scientifically based methods for the development, correction and restoration of speech.

The structure of modern speech therapy consists of preschool, school speech therapy and speech therapy for adolescents and adults. Speech therapy is closely related to many sciences. There are intrasystem and intersystem connections. Intrasystemic ones include connections with pedagogy, various branches of special pedagogy: deaf pedagogy, typhlopedagogy, oligophrenopedagogy; methods of teaching native language, mathematics; with speech therapy rhythm.

Intersystem connections include connections with biomedical and linguistic sciences.

II . The relationship between speech therapy and other sections.

Table 1
Intrasystem connections
Special pedagogy:

Speech therapy

Psychology:

- knowledge of the patterns of mental development of a child;

- knowledge of methods of psychological and pedagogical examination of children of different ages and adequate selection of these methods for examining speech and non-speech functions;

— determination of the role of speech in the mental development of a child;

— establishing contact with a person who has a speech impairment;

— increasing the effectiveness of speech therapy.

Special pedagogy:

Speech therapy

Pedagogy:

— introduction of pedagogical concepts, general didactic principles into teaching practice;

— design of the educational process

Special pedagogy:

Speech therapy

Special pedagogy and its branches:

— studying the specifics of teaching and raising children with speech disorders;

— differentiation of speech disorders from similar conditions;

— selection of adequate methods and techniques for overcoming speech disorders in children with sensory and psychophysical disorders;

— selection of appropriate methods to overcome non-speech disorders in children with speech disorders.

Special pedagogy:

Speech therapy

Methods of teaching native language:

— disclosure of theoretical and methodological aspects of the study and development of speech in children with impaired speech activity;

— study of patterns, goals, content, means, techniques, methods and systems of speech development in children with speech pathology.

Special pedagogy:

Speech therapy

Methods of teaching mathematics:

-studying the patterns, goals, content, means, techniques, methods and systems of teaching mathematics to children with speech pathology.

Table 2
Intersystem connections
Special pedagogy:

Speech therapy

Anatomy and physiology, neurophysiology:

disclosure of the mechanisms of speech, cerebral organization of the speech process, information about the structure and functioning of analyzers taking part in speech activity.

Special pedagogy:

Speech therapy

Otorhinolaryngology:

- the opportunity not only to determine the etiology of disorders, but also to identify patterns in the combination of speech therapy work with medical influence (drug and physiotherapeutic treatment, surgical intervention;

— differential diagnosis of speech disorders from similar conditions

Special pedagogy:

Speech therapy

Neurology, neuropathology:

— knowledge of the structure of the nervous system, its functions and developmental features;

— knowledge of the neurological bases of speech disorders (determination of the localization of the brain lesion);

— identification of non-speech disorders;

— establishing a clinical speech diagnosis;

— the possibility of implementing complex corrective effects (selection of drug treatment, physiotherapy);

- possibility of choosing the right profile

Special pedagogy:

Speech therapy

Psychopathology, mental retardation clinic:

— differential diagnosis of speech disorders from similar conditions;

— an idea of the most common forms of mental disorders in children, the so-called borderline states, manifested in behavioral and emotional disorders, mental retardation and mental retardation

Intrasystem communications

They can be considered using the example of the connection between speech therapy and general and special psychology, and psychodiagnostics. It is important for a speech therapist to know the patterns of mental development of a child and to master the methods of psychological and pedagogical examination of children of different ages. Using these methods, it is possible to differentiate various forms of speech disorders and distinguish them from speech disorders associated with intellectual disability, emotional and behavioral disorders. Knowledge of psychology helps the speech therapist to see not only the speech disorder itself, but first of all the child, to correctly understand the relationship between his speech disorders and the characteristics of mental development as a whole. This knowledge will help him establish contact with children of different ages, choose adequate methods for examining their speech, perception, memory, attention, intelligence, emotional and volitional sphere, as well as carry out more effective speech therapy work.

The connection between speech therapy and other sciences

Speech therapy is closely related to many sciences. In order to successfully engage in the correction and prevention of various speech disorders, to comprehensively influence the individual, it is necessary to know the symptoms of speech disorders , their etiology, mechanisms, the ratio of speech and non-speech symptoms in the structure of speech disorders.
There are intrasystem and intersystem connections. Intrasystemic ones include connections with pedagogy, various branches of special pedagogy: deaf pedagogy, typhlopedagogy, oligophrenopedagogy; methods of teaching native language, mathematics; with speech therapy rhythm, general and special psychology. Intersystem connections include connections with biomedical and linguistic sciences.

The natural scientific psychophysiological basis of speech therapy is the doctrine of the patterns of formation of conditioned reflex connections, the doctrine of P.K. Anokhin about functional systems, the doctrine of the dynamic localization of mental functions (I.M. Sechenov, I.P. Pavlov, A.R. Luria) and modern neuropsychological teaching about speech activity.

A word is a signal of a special property, a means of generalization and abstraction. Taking into account the complex neurophysiological mechanisms of speech activity allows us to more effectively build speech therapy work to correct speech disorders and compensate for impaired speech and non-speech functions. Speech therapy uses knowledge of general anatomy and physiology, neurophysiology about the mechanisms of speech, the cerebral organization of the speech process, the structure and functioning of analyzers that take part in speech activity.

To understand the mechanisms of speech disorders and identify patterns of the correction process, knowledge about the dynamic localization of higher mental functions and the cerebral organization of speech is important.

Speech is a complex functional system, which is based on the use of the sign system of language in the process of communication. The most complex system of language is the product of long-term socio-historical development and is acquired by the child in a relatively short time.

The speech functional system is based on the activity of many brain structures of the brain, each of which performs a specific operation of speech activity.

A. R. Luria identifies 3 functional blocks in brain activity. The first block includes subcortical formations (formations of the upper trunk and limbic region). It ensures normal tone of the cortex and its wakefulness.

The second block includes the cortex of the posterior sections of the cerebral hemispheres, receives, processes and stores sensory information received from the external world, and is the main apparatus of the brain that carries out cognitive (gnostic) processes. Its structure includes primary, secondary and tertiary zones. Primary zones are projection zones of the cortex, the neurons of which have extremely high specificity. They receive sensory information from certain sense organs.

Above the apparatus of the primary zones of the cortex are built secondary zones, which analyze the excitations received by the primary zones. Secondary zones, like primary ones, retain their specific modality (visual, auditory, etc. zones). Primary and secondary zones represent the cortical section of one or another analyzer (visual, auditory, etc.). Tertiary zones are areas of overlap of the cortical sections of the analyzers; they perform the function of analysis, synthesis, and integration of the received sensory information of various modalities. Based on their activity, there is a transition from level to operating with the meanings of words, complex logical and grammatical structures, and abstract relationships.

The third block includes the cortex of the anterior sections of the cerebral hemispheres (motor, premotor and prefrontal areas), provides programming, regulation and control of human behavior, regulates the activity of subcortical formations, regulates the tone and wakefulness of the entire system in accordance with the assigned tasks of activity.

Speech activity is carried out by the joint work of all blocks. At the same time, each block takes a certain, specific part in the speech process.

Isolation and differentiation of significant acoustic features of sounding speech is ensured by the analytical and synthetic activity of the cortical apparatus of the speech-hearing analyzer, which includes the secondary sections of the left temporal region of the cerebral cortex (Wernicke's area), which are connected with the lower sections of the postcentral and premotor cortex.

The process of articulation and motor organization of a speech act is carried out on the basis of the finest regulation of the complex coordinated work of the muscles of the speech apparatus. The motor organization of the speech act is provided by the secondary sections of the postcentral region (kinesthetic apparatus) and the lower sections of the left premotor region (kinetic apparatus). In the postcentral region, the analysis of kinesthetic sensations coming from the muscles of the speech apparatus occurs. In the premotor area, motor programs of the speech act are organized, a series of nerve impulses and kinetic models are created, providing the possibility of a smooth transition from one movement to another.

The selection of linguistic units and their combination, the processes of encoding meaning into speech form are impossible without the participation of the most highly organized structures of the cerebral cortex, the tertiary sections of the anterior frontal and parieto-occipital regions. The tertiary sections of the cerebral cortex ensure the translation of sequential acoustic-motor information into semantic schemes and images. In the parieto-occipital region of the cortex, patterns indicating spatial relationships are also formed.

In the process of written speech, various parts of the occipital and parieto-occipital regions of the cerebral cortex also take part. Thus, different areas of the brain are involved in the speech process in different ways. Damage to any part of it leads to specific symptoms of speech disorders. Data on the cerebral organization of the speech process make it possible to clarify ideas about the etiology and mechanisms of speech disorders. These data are especially necessary for the differential diagnosis of various forms of speech disorder (aphasia) with local brain lesions, which makes it possible to more effectively carry out speech therapy work to restore speech in these patients. Speech therapy is closely related to otorhinolaryngology, neuropathology, psychopathology, mental retardation clinic, and pediatrics. Thus, data on the pathology of the organs of hearing and speech (for example, in case of voice disorders) make it possible not only to determine the etiology of the disorders, but also make it possible to correctly combine speech therapy work with medical intervention (drug and physiotherapeutic treatment, surgery, etc.) - These data are necessary when studying and eliminating voice disorders, rhinolalia, speech disorders with reduced hearing, etc. In particular, voice disorders can be caused by various organic damage to the larynx and vocal folds (tumors, nodules, papillomas, scar changes in the vocal folds, etc.). Elimination of voice disorders in these cases is impossible without the normal physiological functioning of the vocal apparatus, which is ensured by medication, surgery, physiotherapy, and psychotherapy.

Many types of speech disorders are associated with organic damage to the central nervous system, and their diagnosis is only possible through the joint efforts of a speech therapist and a neurologist or neuropsychiatrist. With speech disorders, various mental disorders can be observed: mental retardation, behavioral and emotional disorders, disturbances of attention, memory, mental performance, etc. Their assessment in the structure of speech disorders, analysis of the mechanisms of their occurrence, differentiation of primary ones associated with damage to the central nervous system , and secondary mental disorders in connection with a speech defect are the competence of a neuropsychiatrist. A psychoneurologist gives an opinion on the state of the child’s intelligence, establishes a clinical speech diagnosis, and conducts appropriate treatment.

These data are important for the correct pedagogical analysis of speech disorders and the organization of speech therapy work, the choice of the profile of a special institution.

Many types of speech disorders are associated with delayed brain maturation due to early organic (sometimes even minimal) brain damage. In these cases, speech therapy work is effective only when it is combined with special drug treatment that stimulates the maturation of the central nervous system. This treatment is prescribed by a neuropsychiatrist. In some cases, speech disorders are combined with motor restlessness, increased emotional excitability, and speech therapy sessions are effective only when the child receives special treatment.

The causes of certain types of speech disorders , for example, some forms of stuttering, mutism, can be acute or subacute mental trauma - fear, excitement, change in habitual stereotype (separation from loved ones), etc. At the time of their occurrence, the child needs an appropriate regime and treatment, only The joint work of a neuropsychiatrist and a speech therapist will contribute to his recovery. All these data indicate that although speech therapy is a pedagogical science, it can successfully solve its problems only in connection with the medical sciences and, above all, neuropathology and child psychiatry

The theory of teaching and raising abnormal children, including children with speech disorders, is based on knowledge about the structure of the nervous system, its functions and developmental characteristics.

A speech therapist must know the neurological basis of speech disorders, be oriented in issues of child psychopathology, have an understanding of the most common forms of mental disorders in children, the so-called borderline states, manifested in behavioral and emotional disorders, mental retardation and mental retardation. This knowledge will help him correctly determine the structure of a speech disorder, choose the most optimal methods of correction, training and education of the child, and prevent the abnormal development of his personality.

Communication with neuropathology, psychopathology, the clinic of mental retardation, pathology of the organs of hearing, speech and vision is necessary for the differential diagnosis of speech disorders. Thus, the diagnosis of speech disorders with hearing loss and sensory alalia requires a thorough examination of the state of auditory function; Diagnosis of speech disorders in mental retardation and alalia is impossible without determining the state of intelligence, characteristics of mental and sensorimotor development. Data from medical sciences help the speech therapist to correctly approach the understanding of the etiology and mechanisms of speech disorders, and allow them to more correctly resolve issues of diagnosis and differentiated corrective action in eliminating various forms of speech disorders. The correct placement of children in various types of special institutions depends on an accurate diagnosis.

Speech therapy is closely related to linguistic sciences and psycholinguistics. Speech involves the use of linguistic units of various levels and the rules of their functioning. They may be affected differently in different speech disorders. Knowledge of the laws and the sequence of a child’s assimilation of language norms helps to clarify the speech therapy conclusion and is necessary for the development of a system of speech therapy intervention

When studying and eliminating systemic speech disorders in modern speech therapy, psycholinguistic data are widely used, based on the teachings of L. S. Vygotsky, A. R. Luria, A. A. Leontyev about the complex structure of speech activity, about the operations of perception and generation of speech utterances. The perception and production of a speech utterance are multi-level processes that have a complex hierarchically organized structure, including various operations. Each level, each operation of the process of generating a speech utterance has its own vocabulary, its own syntax for combining units.

When studying speech disorders, it is important to determine which of the operations of generating a speech utterance is impaired. In Russian speech therapy, models of speech utterance generation developed by L. S. Vygotsky, A. A. Leontiev, T. V. Ryabova are used.

L. S. Vygotsky considered the relationship between thought and word as a process of movement from thought to word and back; he identified the following plans of movement: motive - thought - internal speech - external speech, distinguishing external (physical) and semantic (psychological) plans of speech. In external speech, the interaction of grammatical and semantic (psychological) structures is manifested. The transitional structure from the semantic plane to external speech is internal speech. L. S. Vygotsky gave a deep analysis of inner speech and revealed its characteristic features.

Based on the structure of the speech process described by L. S. Vygotsky, A. A. Leontiev identifies the following operations for generating a speech utterance: motive - thought (speech intention) - internal programming - lexical deployment and grammatical construction - motor implementation - external speech.

Every speech utterance is generated by a certain motive, which determines the emergence of speech intention (thought). At the stage of internal programming, which corresponds to L. S. Vygotsky’s “mediation of thought in the inner word,” speech intention is mediated by a code of personal meanings enshrined in certain subjective code units (“code of images and schemes”, according to N. I. Zhinkin) . A program is created for both a whole coherent speech utterance and individual utterances; as a result, a system of predicative utterances is organized in the internal speech code. The program of an individual utterance includes such components as subject, object, predicate, etc., which are connected by a meaningful, semantic connection (“psychological syntax”). In the process of perception at this stage, the operation of collapsing the system of objective linguistic meanings into an internal scheme is carried out

The stage of lexico-grammatical deployment includes two operations that are fundamentally different in their mechanisms: the operation of generating a syntactic structure and its lexical content, which are carried out in the codes of a certain language, i.e. at the linguistic level. Then follows the stage of motor implementation.

A psycholinguistic approach to the study of, for example, alalia allows us to more deeply reveal the mechanism of speech disorders, clarify the structure of the defect, and define this disorder as a language disorder.

Studying the state of various operations of perception and generation of speech utterances in aphasia makes it possible to determine the specifics of their impairment in its various forms.

The psycholinguistic approach contributes to greater efficiency of speech therapy work in the correction of speech disorders, as well as an understanding of the interaction of language and speech structures within a single system. This problem has been productively developed in recent years on the basis of a systematic approach by V.I. Beltyukov. Based on the analysis of numerous literary data, the author convincingly shows the contrast in the nature of the construction of language and speech structures, which lies in the discreteness of the first and the continuity of the second. Despite the fact that speech and language are formed on the basis of the same elements, the nature of their relationships in the formed structures differs significantly. The principles of interaction between linguistic and speech structures, according to V.I. Beltyukov, reflect the general mechanism of self-organization and self-regulation in living and inanimate nature, namely not only the principle of interiorization, but also the principle of exteriorization in their dialectical unity.

Speech therapy is closely related to general and special psychology, psychodiagnostics. It is important for a speech therapist to know the patterns of mental development of a child and to master the methods of psychological and pedagogical examination of children of different ages. Using these methods, a speech therapist can differentiate various forms of speech disorders and distinguish them from speech disorders associated with intellectual disability, emotional and behavioral disorders. Knowledge of psychology helps the speech therapist to see not only the speech disorder itself, but first of all the child, to correctly understand the relationship between his speech disorders and the characteristics of mental development as a whole. This knowledge will help him establish contact with children of different ages, choose adequate methods for examining their speech, perception, memory, attention, intelligence, emotional-volitional sphere, and also carry out more effective speech therapy work.

Speech therapy as a science: theoretical foundations and methods for diagnosing speech disorders

Issues for discussion:

Speech therapy as a science.
Speech and speech activity.
Methods of speech therapy as a science.

Speech therapy as a science

Speech therapy is a special pedagogical science about speech disorders, methods for their prevention, identification and elimination by means of special training and education. Speech therapy studies the causes, mechanisms, symptoms, course, structure of speech disorders, and the system of correctional interventions. It is one of the sections of special pedagogy - defectology. The term speech therapy is derived from the Greek words: logos (word, speech) and peideo (educate, teach), which translated means “speech education.”

The subject of speech therapy is the study of the patterns of training and education of persons with speech disorders and associated deviations in mental development.

The object of study is the state of speech and non-speech processes and functions in persons with various speech disorders. The structure of modern speech therapy consists of preschool, school speech therapy and speech therapy for adolescents and adults.

The main goal of speech therapy is to develop a scientifically based system of training, education and re-education of people with speech disorders, as well as the prevention of speech disorders.

The main tasks of speech therapy are as follows:

determination of the prevalence and symptoms of speech disorders in children of preschool and school age;
study of the structure of speech disorders and the influence of speech disorders on the mental development of the child;
development of methods for pedagogical diagnosis of speech disorders;
studying the patterns of special education and upbringing of children with speech disorders;
development of scientifically based methods for eliminating and preventing various forms of speech impairment;
organization of a system of speech therapy assistance.

The practical aspect of speech therapy is to prevent, identify and eliminate speech disorders. Applied problems of speech therapy are solved by developing specialized programs for children with different structures and severity of speech disorders; when creating methodological systems for speech therapy classes and exercises, didactic aids, and recommendations for parents.

In the history of the emergence of speech therapy as a science, several stages can be distinguished:

Stage I (from ancient times to the 18th century). The first attempts to understand and explain the causes of speech disorders, to differentiate them, and to outline ways to overcome them, are found in the works of ancient physicians starting from the 5th century. BC. In India, treatises of Ayurveda occupy a special place in sacred literature. One of them describes two plastic surgeries - treatment of “cleft lip” and “cleft palate” - cheiloplasty and uranoplasty. The works of John Amos Comenius (1592 - 1670) reveal a wide range of issues relating to the development of speech in children.

Stage II (from the 18th to the 3rd quarter of the 19th century). Various ideas and scientific directions in the study of speech pathology are emerging (techniques for the correction of speech defects, the optical-tactile method from deaf pedagogy).

Stage III (from the 3rd quarter of the 19th century to the 50s of the 20th century). Speech therapy became an independent discipline (in the late 19th – early 20th centuries). Special assistance is organized for children with speech disorders (in Russia - early 20th century). They began to train defectologists with higher education (St. Petersburg, 1920).

In 1931, the first textbook on speech therapy for students and speech therapist teachers was published (Khvattsev M.E.) In the 40s, important principles of differential diagnosis began to emerge: the delimitation of speech disorders from other forms of speech disorders.

Stage IV (50s of the XX century to the present). Since the 50s XX century The pedagogical content of speech therapy comes first. Development of a network of preschool and school institutions for children with speech disorders. Speech therapy rooms are opening in all children's clinics. The works of Vygotsky, Boskis, and Levina expanded the subject of speech therapy with new pedagogical and theoretical content. New methods are being introduced to eliminate violations of oral and written speech, and the types of speech anomalies for the school category (60-70 years) are being clarified. The fundamentals of speech therapy as a pedagogical science were developed by R.E. Levina in the 50-70s. XX century and are based on the doctrine of the complex hierarchical structure of speech activity.

There are intrasystem and intersystem connections:

Intrasystemic ones include connections with pedagogy, various branches of special pedagogy: deaf pedagogy, typhlopedagogy, oligophrenopedagogy; methods of teaching native language, mathematics; with speech therapy rhythm, general and special psychology.
Intersystem ones include connections with medical, biological and linguistic sciences, as well as with psycholinguistics.

Higher, socially mediated mental functions of a person, which include speech, are the result of the work of the whole brain, but some of its parts, in particular the cortical speech zones, make a significant, specific contribution to the implementation of speech activity.

Speech therapy is closely related to otorhinolaryngology, neuropathology, psychopathology, mental retardation clinic, and pediatrics.

Thus, data from the pathology of the organs of hearing and speech (for example, in case of voice disorders) not only make it possible to determine the etiology of the disorders, but also make it possible to correctly combine speech therapy work with medical intervention. These data are necessary when studying and eliminating voice disorders, rhinolalia, speech disorders with reduced hearing, etc.

Many types of speech disorders are associated with delayed brain maturation due to early organic (sometimes even minimal) brain damage. In these cases, speech therapy work is effective only when it is combined with special drug treatment that stimulates the maturation of the central nervous system. This treatment is prescribed by a neuropsychiatrist. In some cases, speech disorders are combined with motor restlessness, increased emotional excitability, and speech therapy sessions are effective only when the child receives special treatment.

The causes of certain types of speech disorders, for example, some forms of stuttering, mutism, can be acute or subacute mental trauma - fear, excitement, change in habitual stereotype (separation from loved ones), etc. At the time of their occurrence, the child needs an appropriate regimen and treatment. All these data indicate that, although speech therapy is a pedagogical science, it can successfully solve its problems only in connection with the medical sciences and, above all, neuropathology and child psychiatry.

Speech therapy is closely related to linguistic sciences and psycholinguistics. Speech involves the use of linguistic units of various levels and the rules of their functioning. They may be affected differently in different speech disorders. Knowledge of the laws and the sequence of a child’s assimilation of language norms helps to clarify the speech therapy conclusion and is necessary for the development of a system of speech therapy intervention.

A psycholinguistic approach to the study of, for example, alalia allows us to more deeply reveal the mechanism of speech disorders, clarify the structure of the defect, and define this disorder as a language disorder.

Overcoming and preventing speech disorders contribute to the harmonious development of the creative forces of the child’s personality, eliminating obstacles to the realization of his social orientation and the acquisition of knowledge. Therefore, speech therapy, being a special branch, at the same time participates in solving general pedagogical problems.

Speech and speech activity

Speech activity is realized in its main types: listening (listening), speaking (pronunciation), reading, writing (written speech). These types are basic for human interaction in the process of verbal communication.

Speech occupies a central place in the process of a child’s mental development and is internally connected with the development of thinking and consciousness in general. Speech is multifunctional in nature. It performs a communicative function (a means of communication), an intellectual or signative function (a means of generalization), and an indicative function (a means of indicating an object).

A practical solution to the problem of overcoming speech underdevelopment in children is determined by understanding the relationship between language and speech. Modern psychological and linguistic studies note significant differences between these concepts.

Language is a system of objectively existing, socially assigned signs that correlate conceptual content and typical sound, as well as a system of rules for their use and compatibility.

Speech is the highest mental function, which is the main means of expressing thoughts. Speech is a psychophysiological process of language realization.

Language is a means of communication, and speech is a process of communication.

In the process of speech experience, a normally developing child develops speech ability (linguistic ability). A.A. Leontyev notes that the mechanism of speech ability is formed on the basis of the innate psychophysiological characteristics of a person and under the influence of verbal communication.

Linguistic ability is a set of speech skills and abilities formed on the basis of complete prerequisites for their development. There are four types of speech skills - the ability to speak, listening - for oral speech, the ability to write and read - for written speech.

The components of linguistic ability are:

pronounced verbal memory, manifested in the rapid formation of verbal associations;
the speed and ease of formation of functional linguistic generalizations, expressed in the formation of a “sense of correctness” of speech.

There are two forms of speech: external and internal.

External speech includes the following types: oral (dialogue and monologue) and written.

Dialogical speech, the psychologically simplest and most natural form of speech, occurs during direct communication between two or more interlocutors and consists mainly of the exchange of remarks.

A response - an answer, an objection, a remark to the words of the interlocutor - is distinguished by its brevity, the presence of interrogative and incentive sentences, and syntactically undeveloped constructions.

The distinctive features of dialogic speech are:

emotional contact of speakers, their impact on each other through facial expressions, gestures, intonation and timbre of voice;
situationality, i.e. the subject or topic of discussion exists in joint activity or is directly perceived.

Monologue speech is a consistent, coherent presentation by one person of a certain system of knowledge or event. Monologue speech is characterized by consistency and evidence, which ensure coherence of thought, grammatically correct design, and expressiveness of vocal means. Monologue speech is more complex than dialogical speech in content and linguistic design and always presupposes a fairly high level of speech development of the speaker.

There are three main types of monologue speech: narration (story, message), description and reasoning, which, in turn, are divided into a number of subtypes that have their own linguistic, compositional and intonation-expressive features.

When speech development deviates from the norm, monologue speech is disrupted to a greater extent than dialogic speech.

Written speech is graphically designed speech, organized on the basis of letter images. It is addressed to a wide range of readers and requires in-depth skills in sound-letter analysis, the ability to logically and grammatically correctly convey one’s thoughts, analyze what is written and improve the form of expression. The full assimilation of writing and written speech is closely related to the level of development of oral speech. When oral speech is underdeveloped, writing impairments of varying severity usually occur.

The internal form of speech (speech “to oneself”) is silent speech that occurs when a person thinks about something and mentally makes a plan for speaking. Inner speech is distinguished in its structure by predicativeness, convolution, and the absence of secondary members of the sentence, i.e. has a special syntactic and semantic structure in the absence of phonetic design. During ontogenesis, internal speech is formed in a child on the basis of external speech and represents one of the main mechanisms of thinking.

With the help of internal speech, the process of transforming thoughts into speech and preparing a speech utterance is carried out. Preparation goes through several stages. The starting point for the preparation of each speech utterance is a motive or intention, which is known to the speaker only in the most general terms. Then, in the process of transforming a thought into a statement, the stage of internal speech begins, which is characterized by the presence of semantic representations that reflect its most essential content. Next, from a larger number of potential semantic connections, the most necessary ones are identified and the appropriate syntactic structures are selected (L.S. Vygotsky).

Based on restructuring through the semantic plan, an external speech utterance is built at the phonological and phonetic level with a detailed grammatical structure, i.e. the spoken speech is formed. This process can be significantly disrupted at any of these links in both children and adults who have insufficient speech experience or severe speech pathology.

The speech function plays an important role in the mental development of the child, during which the development of cognitive activity and the ability to conceptual thinking occurs. Full speech communication is a necessary condition for the implementation of normal social human contacts, and this, in turn, expands the child’s understanding of the life around him. A child’s mastery of speech to a certain extent regulates his behavior and helps to plan adequate participation in various forms of collective activities.

Based on the research of A.A. Leontiev, we can conditionally identify the leading periods of speech development:

1st – preparatory (from birth to one year);
2nd – pre-preschool (from one to 3 years);
3rd – preschool (from 3 to 7 years);
4th – school (from 7 to 17 years old).

Preparatory stage.

A cry is a child's first vocal reaction. Both the cry and the crying of a child activate the activity of the articulatory, vocal, and respiratory parts of the speech apparatus.

Therefore, if in the “anamnestic data” section it is indicated that the child was born with asphyxia and did not immediately cry, then this information can already be an important diagnostic symptom for a speech therapist.

The “humbling” period is observed in all children. Already at 1.5 months, and then at 2-3 months, the child exhibits vocal reactions in the reproduction of sounds such as a-a-bm-bm, bly, u-gu, boo, etc. It is they who will then become the basis for the development of articulate speech. “Walking” is the same for all children of the world.

At 4 months, sound combinations become more complex: new ones appear, such as gn-agn, la-ala, rn, etc. In the process of “walking,” the child seems to be playing with his articulatory apparatus, repeating the same sound several times, while enjoying it. Against the background of positive emotional contact, the baby begins to imitate adults and tries to diversify his voice with expressive intonation.

With the normal development of a child, “booming” gradually turns into babbling. At 7-8.5 months, children pronounce syllables like ba-ba, dyad-dya, grandfather, etc., relating them to certain people around them. Babbling is not a mechanical reproduction of syllable combinations, but their correlation with certain persons, objects, and actions. In the process of communicating with adults, the child gradually tries to imitate intonation, tempo, rhythm, melody, and also reproduce the sound elements of the sounding speech of others. At 9-10 months, the volume of babbling words that the child tries to repeat after adults expands.

At 8.5-9 months, babbling is modulated with a variety of intonations. But this process is not unambiguous for all children: with a decrease in auditory function, the humming “fades out”, and this is often a diagnostic symptom. So, if a speechless child of 2.5-3 years old is brought for consultation, who does not understand speech addressed to him and does not speak, it is important to find out whether he has lost his “booming” at an early age. In such cases, it is necessary to give him an audiogram.

Pre-school stage.

This stage is characterized by the child’s increased attention to the speech of others, and his speech activity increases. The words used by the child are polysemantic: at the same time, with the same babbling combination, the child denotes several concepts: “bang” - fell, lies, stumbled; “give” – give, bring, give; “bibi” – walking, lying, riding, car, plane, bicycle.

After one and a half years, the growth of children’s active vocabulary is observed; the first sentences appear, consisting of amorphous root words (Ma, yes kh (mother, give kitty).

During this period, a combination of the following factors plays a particularly important role:

a mechanism for imitating the words of others;
a complex system of functional connections that ensure speech;
favorable conditions in which the child is raised.

Analyzing the quantitative indicators of the growth of the vocabulary of children at this age, the following data can be given: one and a half years - 10-15 words, by the end of the second year - 30 words, by three years, approximately 100 words.

A characteristic indicator of the active speech development of children at this stage is the gradual formation of grammatical categories.

During this period we can distinguish the stage of “physiological agrammatism”, when the child uses in communication sentences of the appropriate grammatical design: “Mama, give Kuka” (Mom, give me a doll); “Vova no tina” (Vova doesn’t have a car).

With normal speech development, this period lasts only a few months and by the age of three the child independently uses the simplest grammatical structures.

At the age of 1-3 years, the child rearranges, omits, and replaces many sounds of his native language with simpler ones in articulation. This is explained by age-related imperfections of the articulatory apparatus and insufficient level of phoneme perception.

By the end of the preschool period, children communicate with each other and others using the structure of a simple common sentence, while using the simplest grammatical categories of speech.

At three years of age, the anatomical maturation of the speech areas of the brain practically ends. The child masters the main grammatical forms of his native language and accumulates a certain vocabulary.

Preschool stage.

This period is characterized by the most intensive speech development of children. There is often a qualitative leap in the expansion of vocabulary. The child begins to actively use all parts of speech, and word formation skills are gradually formed.

Some authors highlight the stage of children's word creation, increased interest in linguistic phenomena and generalizations (T.N. Ushakova, S.N. Tseitlin, etc.). The process of language acquisition proceeds so dynamically that after three years, children with a good level of speech development communicate freely not only using grammatically correct simple sentences, but also many types of complex sentences, using conjunctions and allied words.

At this time, children's active vocabulary reaches 300-800 words, a more differentiated use of words is formed in accordance with their meanings, and the processes of word change are improved.

At the age of 5-6 years, children’s statements are quite lengthy, and a certain logic of presentation is captured. Often in their stories there appear elements of fantasy, a desire to invent episodes that did not actually happen.

In the preschool period, there is a fairly active development of the phonetic side of speech, the ability to reproduce layers of different syllable structures and sound content.

During this period, a linguistic sense is formed, which ensures the confident use of all grammatical categories in independent statements. If at this age a child allows persistent agrammatism, abbreviations and rearrangements of syllables and sounds, assimilation of syllables, their replacement and omission - this is an important and convincing symptom, indicating a pronounced underdevelopment of speech function.

School period.

Improvement of coherent speech continues. Children consciously learn grammatical rules for the design of free statements and fully master sound analysis and synthesis. At this stage, written speech is formed.

Methods of speech therapy as a science

Methods for diagnosing speech disorders in speech therapy as a science can be divided into several groups.

The first group is organizational methods.

The comparative method (the “cross-section” method) consists of comparing different objects or different aspects of one object of study at a certain point in time. It requires criteria in forming a sample of subjects (by level of education, membership in a certain social group, etc.). In sufficiently large groups, using specific techniques, a certain aspect of development is studied, for example, the level of speech development. As a result, data characteristic of this one is obtained. Several such sections are made and the data for each group are compared with each other. Based on this, a conclusion is drawn about what development trends are observed here and what causes them.
The longitudinal method (“longitudinal section method”) is a method of long-term observation of the development of mental functions; speech development, mental functions of speech, personality. Over a period of time (during the year, or the preschool period, or from birth to adolescence). Such a study makes it possible to accurately identify development trends, minor changes occurring in intervals that are not covered by the “cross-section” method. Difficulties in conducting longitudinal studies are due to the migration of individuals, their refusal to participate in the experiment, and getting used to it.
Complex method - involves a comprehensive study of the speech pathologist and his disorders. Essentially, this is, as a rule, an interdisciplinary study devoted to the study of an object common to several sciences: the object is one, but the subjects of research are different. Complex studies of complex objects conducted by specialists from different sciences make it possible to establish connections and dependencies between phenomena of different types, for example, between physiological, psychological and social parameters of personality development.

The second group consists of empirical methods.

Observation (observational) - a systematic, purposeful, according to a pre-developed plan, study of human speech development, with the aim of their subsequent analysis and explanation.

This method includes:

slice (short-term observation);
continuous (carried out for all mental processes, properties and qualities of a given person);
selective (observation of one process, property or state);
external (observation from the outside);
free (does not have a pre-established framework, program, or procedure for its implementation);
standardized (predetermined and clearly limited in terms of what is observed, carried out according to a certain, pre-thought-out program).
Experiment is one of the main, along with observation, methods of scientific knowledge in general and speech therapy research in particular. It differs from observation primarily in that it involves a special organization of the research situation, active intervention in the situation of the researcher, systematically manipulating one or more variable factors and recording corresponding changes in the behavior of the subject. The experiment allows for relatively complete control of variables. If during observation it is often impossible to foresee changes, then in an experiment it is possible to plan them and prevent surprises from occurring. The ability to manipulate variables is one of the important advantages of experiment over observation.

There are different types of experiments:

The ascertainer is aimed at identifying what is disturbed in the speech pathologist.
Laboratory experiment, development of various tasks and recording of speech pathologist's answers. It can take place under special conditions, special equipment is used, the actions of the subject are determined by instructions, the subject knows that an experiment is being conducted, although he may not know the true meaning of the experiment until the end.
A natural experiment, when the experimenter observes behavior and speech without interfering with the activity.
Psychological-pedagogical or formative. The goal is the formation and development of mental functions, including speech. The study of a child is carried out directly in the process of his education and upbringing, in the process of active formation of those mental and/or speech therapy characteristics that are the subject of study.
Psychodiagnostic methods:
Test. Its essence lies in the subject performing a specific task or series of tasks. Tests must be well-designed, reliable (give stable results over a long period of time), valid (show the qualities they are intended to be studied), meet the requirements of a standard data processing system, and be provided with clear instructions; short-term task, identical for all subjects, the results of which determine the level of speech development in the child.
Projective techniques. The main feature of projective techniques is the use of ambiguous, vague (weakly structured) stimuli, which the subject must interpret, supplement, develop, and construct.
Interview. The interview procedure is built on the “question-answer” principle: as a rule, questions are clearly programmed in advance. This method allows you to simultaneously study a large number of individuals, collect an array of data relating to a wide variety of issues, interests and preferences, etc.
Questioning. The method provides significant opportunities for obtaining broad information in a short time. The questionnaire consists of a fixed number of open, alternative or closed questions. Open questions are given a free answer, while alternative questions are given a fixed answer (“yes”, “no”, “I know”, “I don’t know”). Closed questions require an indirect answer and require additional interpretation.
Autobiographical methods aimed at identifying anamnesis.

The third group includes quantitative (mathematical and statistical) and qualitative analysis of the data obtained. It is used to process data obtained by survey and experiment methods, as well as to establish quantitative relationships between the phenomena being studied. They help evaluate the results of an experiment, increase the reliability of conclusions, and provide grounds for theoretical generalizations. Processing the results obtained using mathematical methods using special formulas allows you to clearly display the identified dependencies in the form of graphs, tables, and diagrams.

The fourth group is interpretive methods, methods of theoretical study of connections between the phenomena being studied (the connection between parts and the whole, between individual parameters and the phenomenon as a whole, between functions and personality, etc.). It is necessary to clearly understand that the actual data themselves do not mean much. The researcher obtains results in the process of interpreting factual data, so a lot depends on one or another interpretation.

The genetic (phylo- and ontogenetic) method allows us to interpret all factual material in terms of development, highlighting phases, stages of development, as well as critical moments in the formation of mental functions. As a result, “vertical” connections are established between levels of development. Based on the analysis of development in both ontogenetic and phylogenetic plans.
The structural method establishes “horizontal” connections between various elements of the psyche, using conventional methods for studying various structures, in particular, classification and typologization. This is a direction focused on identifying and describing the structure of objects (phenomena). It is characterized by: in-depth attention to the description of the current state of objects; clarification of their inherent timeless properties; interest is not in isolated facts, but in the relationship between them.

Technical means are widely used to ensure the objectivity of the study: intonographs, spectrographs, nasometers, video speech, phonographs, spirometers and other equipment, as well as X-ray cine photography, glottography, cinematography, electromyography, which make it possible to study the dynamics of integral speech activity and its individual components.

Speech disorders and limited verbal communication can negatively affect the formation of a child’s personality, cause mental layers, specific features of the emotional-volitional sphere, and contribute to the development of negative character traits (shyness, indecisiveness, isolation, negativism, feelings of inferiority).

All this negatively affects literacy, academic performance in general, and choice of profession. The importance of speech therapy is to help the child overcome speech disorders, thereby ensuring his full, comprehensive development.