Speech Therapist and Special Educator Sessions for Nonverbal Children

Sessions with a speech therapist and special educator are a set of exercises and manual techniques aimed at developing the articulatory apparatus and cognitive abilities in severe speech disorders. The speech therapists and special educators of our clinic in Kyiv work with children who have intellectual and speech development disorders. Using speech massage and special exercises in a play format, we help young children build pre-verbal communication skills (vocal intonations, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, body postures) and encourage the emergence of speech.

Pre-verbal communication is the basic level from which spoken language develops. For a child to start speaking and for words in the child's vocabulary to acquire concrete meaning, the child first needs to master the language of gestures, postures, and facial expressions.

Even if a child already speaks, adult support is needed to build relationships at the non-verbal level. This is important for children with autism, because children who are withdrawn into themselves need the ability to express emotions and integrate into society.

What is the difference between a speech therapist and a speech therapist-special educator

A speech therapist works with a child who can already speak but speaks with incorrect pronunciation (stutters, has difficulty with the "r" sound, lisps, speaks with a nasal tone, mixes up letters). A speech therapist-special educator works with young children who need not correction but the development of speech.

Speech therapy sessions using traditional correction methods may not produce the expected result in nonverbal children or children who are only beginning to speak. For such children, correct sound production alone is not enough. For this reason, speech therapists themselves often decline to work with this "difficult" category of young patients, seeing no prospects. The same happens when a child is able to speak but avoids interacting with the teacher. Sessions with a speech therapist-special educator can gently support the child's socialization and improve the child's speech and language level when traditional speech therapy cannot help.

Which children need sessions with a speech therapist-special educator

Sessions with a speech therapist-special educator can help a child find a common language with the world around them in the presence of the following disorders:

• autism and autistic disorders;
• alalia;
• dysarthria;
• general speech underdevelopment;
• delayed speech and mental development;
• congenital genetic syndromes (Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability).

Speech massage for "silent" children

Speech therapy massage develops the speech apparatus, tones and stimulates the innervation of the articulatory muscles, and supports brain function.

Speech massage begins with light stroking of the forehead and face. This both affects the muscles and gets the child used to the speech therapist's hands. In addition to the face, the muscles of the collar area are massaged, and tongue exercises are performed.

Speech therapy massage with probes combined with manual speech massage helps correct muscle tone.

Sessions with a special educator for children with intellectual disability include speech massage and therapeutic exercise (physical therapy). Such comprehensive rehabilitation supports blood supply to the brain and innervation of the muscles of the articulatory apparatus.

Speech therapy massage is prescribed in courses of 10 sessions. It is combined with articulation gymnastics, isotonic exercises for the muscles of the speech apparatus, and sessions on forming correct sound pronunciation. The massage technique is chosen during the initial consultation.

Play sessions with a speech therapist-special educator in our clinic

For children with autism, we have developmental courses that help build utterances based on a visual image (a picture). Sessions with a speech therapist-special educator for autistic children who do not speak or speak poorly, using only single words and short phrases, help establish emotional contact with the child and develop everyday speech through carefully planned play situations. Directing speech toward communication through contact and dialogue, even if brief and not yet very emotional, develops the understanding of the meaning of speech, learning, and the social adaptation of a child with autism.

Sessions with a special educator for children with delayed mental development are aimed at developing thinking. Delayed mental development causes a lack of readiness for learning when a child reaches school age. Therefore, the main task of helping such children is to teach them to perceive information and analyze it independently.

Individual sessions with a special educator calm the child and build a trusting relationship, which makes dialogue easier and improves the results of developmental work.

Read also

• ADHD in children: symptoms and treatment
• Hyperactive child: what to do
• Minimal brain dysfunction (MBD)
• Alalia in children

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