Consultation for parents “Phonological awareness. Phonemic hearing. And what is it?"

Phonemic awareness is the ability of a person to distinguish, analyze and differentiate the syllables and sounds of human speech.

Phonemic hearing disorder (PHD) is not an ENT disorder. With defects in phonemic hearing, physiological hearing is usually well developed. A child may even have an ear for music. The problem is that it doesn't recognize phonemes—individual sounds—well. For example, instead of the word “porridge” he says “Kafka”, instead of “spoon” he says “loska”, etc.

With such a deviation, acoustic dysgraphia appears in children of school age. Because of this, difficulties arise with learning and correctly reproducing heard words. Spelling and learning new languages ​​are especially difficult. But it will be difficult to succeed in other subjects - the ability to write and speak correctly will be useful everywhere. Failure in studies negatively affects a child’s self-esteem; he gets used to feeling like an outsider, and this is fixed in his subconscious. That is why it is very important to correct this deficiency before school or, if this does not happen, in primary school.

Development of phonemic hearing

Phonemic hearing begins to develop from birth. The baby first learns to distinguish everyday sounds: the sound of a hammer, the sound of water from a tap, the click of a switch. But this is not yet phonemic hearing, but its prerequisites are the discrimination of everyday object noises. The temporal cortex of the right hemisphere is responsible for this function, as well as for musical hearing, the hearing of animals and birds.

The further development of auditory perception can be divided into the following stages:

• A child aged 1-2 months begins not only to respond to environmental sounds, but also tries to repeat them (humming).
• Gradually distinguishes various intonations, practices in reproducing vowel sounds and their combinations.
• Then he learns to distinguish the rhythmic pattern of a word. Already repeats sounds and straight open syllables after adults.
• By about 8 months, the baby uses only those sounds that are present in his native speech (babble).
• At 1-2 years of age, proof of the correct development of phonemic hearing will be the child’s understanding of the speech with which adults address him. He is able to carry out simple instructions, such as: “bring the doll”, “sit on the typewriter”. It also gives adequate answers to basic questions: “where is mom?”, “Are you thirsty?”
• At normal rates of intellectual development, by the age of 3, a child’s phonemic hearing is practically formed; he is able to recognize incorrect pronunciation and distinguish native from foreign speech. Also, at the age of 3-4 years, the child should have back-lingual sounds (H-K-G). If a child pronounces them incorrectly (“kh” instead of “k”) or replaces one sound with another (“D” instead of “G”), then the reason may also be a violation of phonemic hearing.
• At 4-5 years old, a child without deviations well masters the technique of pronunciation of most sounds (except for hissing-whistles and R-L, which normally should appear before the age of 6-7 years). If this does not happen, then there is a violation of phonemic hearing, which must be eliminated in order to avoid problems with pronunciation and learning in the future.

In the process of forming speech hearing and developing speech in a child, the temporal zone of the right hemisphere first develops, and then (at about 1.5 years) the left hemisphere begins to specialize in speech. Accordingly, the temporal cortex of the right hemisphere remains “responsible” for rhythms, music and object noise, and phonemic hearing is “settled” in the temporal cortex of the right hemisphere. Thus, with a severe variant of impaired understanding of addressed speech (speech auditory agnosia), a child can understand intonations, respond to music, even use realistic onomatopoeia of animals, but at the same time not understand human speech.

Concept of speech hearing

The human hearing system has non-speech and speech hearing as two independent forms. The first form is the ability to navigate non-speech sounds, which include music, melodies, and noises. Speech hearing is the ability to analyze heard speech sounds. In this case, the origin of the words heard is not important - they can be taken from the native language or a foreign one. Speech hearing may be impaired due to injury to the temporal region on the left side of the head. Non-speech is impaired when the right temporal region is injured.

Speech hearing is divided into:

• phonemic – difference, recognition of phonemes in speech;
• physical – the ability to perceive sounds of different sounds, pitches and volumes;
• pitch – the ability to capture the melody of speech;
• tonal – the ability to hear and repeat changes in voice timbre;
• rhythmic - a sense of the internal tempo of speech and the ability to reproduce it.

Speech hearing allows you to control the spoken text, adapt to the tone of your interlocutor, control the auditory perception of speech and the sound of your own voice. With speech hearing impairments, problems arise in learning to read and write.

Signs of phonemic hearing impairment

As mentioned above, the most severe type of auditory speech perception disorder is auditory speech agnosia. When phonemic hearing is impaired, the child develops FFSD (phonetic-phonemic speech disorder). In preschool children it manifests itself as follows:

1. The pronunciation of individual sounds is impaired, not due to a violation of articulation. For example, voiced sounds can be replaced by voiceless or similar ones; hissing and whistling sounds predominate in speech. “Kladrat” instead of “square”;
2. The child skips or swaps consonants and vowels in words. Instead of the word “machine” - “manisha”, “mshina”; “turn” instead of “turn”;
3. Softening consonants where this is not required, or, conversely, pronouncing a hard consonant instead of a soft one: “karyandash” instead of “pencil”, “pyu” instead of “drink”, “song” instead of “song”.
4. Missing words in speech or syllables in words.

Impaired phonemic hearing can lead to dyslalia.

Schoolchildren exhibit the following signs of FFND:

1. Phonological writing (writes as it hears);
2. Substitution of soft characters or their omission. “Bear” - “bear”, “wound” - “wound”, etc.;
3. Missing words in sentences, syllables in words. Prepositions and particles are usually skipped: “I’m driving,” “Let’s go shopping”;
4. Grammatical errors in writing - unstressed vowels are omitted, consonants are doubled, incorrect placement of a soft separating sign, which is defined as acoustic dysgraphia during diagnosis.
5. The inability to determine the correct stress in a word because the child does not hear the stressed sound; for him it is similar to an unstressed sound.

Causes of phonemic hearing impairment

Since the left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for phonemic hearing, the state of this particular zone is very important. When examining children with FS disorders, the following are often revealed:

1. Problems of blood supply to the brain (for example, increased intracranial pressure, venous congestion, dilatation of the cerebral ventricles, especially on the left);
2. Disturbance in the conduction of auditory impulses at the level “to the cortex,” especially from the right ear to the left hemisphere (detected by examination using the evoked potentials method). This is not a gross hearing impairment (as a rule, an ENT doctor writes in this case: “normal”), but it manifests itself precisely when perceiving speech sounds at certain frequencies.
3. On the EEG, children with FFND also have a disturbance of electrogenesis in the area of ​​the left temple (but not necessarily).

Thus, we can say that FS disorder is a neurological, neurophysiological disorder, which is most often caused by problems of pregnancy and childbirth. In addition to phonemic hearing impairment, such children often have associated problems: hyperactivity, behavioral problems, nutritional problems, and emotional-volitional problems.

conclusions

Thus, the following conclusions can be drawn:

1. The function of the child’s auditory analyzer is formed early, much earlier than the speech motor analyzer.
2. Phonemic hearing consists of the ability to generalize different sounds into separate groups, to combine sounds, taking as a basis some essential features and ignoring other, random features.
3. The process of speech perception is divided into two stages: prephonemic and phonemic.
4. N. Kh. Shvachkin identifies 12 phonemic series according to the order of formation in children.
5. Of all types of analysis of speech flow (dividing sentences into words, words into syllables, syllables into sounds), the most difficult is the phonemic analysis of words.
6. Practical ideas about the sound composition of a language are formed on the basis of phonemic analysis and perception. Memory and attention play a significant role in this process.

Korchagina Larisa, teacher-speech therapist (St. Petersburg)

Diagnostics

If you suspect your child has FFND, it is important to seek help from a speech therapist. At the first appointment, the specialist must conduct a mandatory examination of phonemic hearing. To do this, the following procedures are carried out: the child determines the source of the sound, distinguishes similar words, differentiates syllables and phonemes, sound analysis.

In our center, we also recommend that you undergo a consultation with a neuropsychologist and bring the necessary conclusions based on the results of an EEG, an examination using the method of evoked potentials (ASVP, EVP), Dopplerography and a neurologist’s report to understand the full picture of the child’s development.

Based on the results of all diagnostic procedures, the teacher draws up an individual program for correcting defects.

Correction of violation

To develop phonemic hearing, first of all, regular classes with a speech therapist are needed. Our center also successfully uses the Tomatis method of neurosensory auditory stimulation to improve auditory-verbal and phonemic perception. Listening to a special program using bone conduction headphones expands the range of frequencies perceived by the brain, including those at which the temporal cortex recognizes speech sounds. Auditory-verbal attention also improves.

During speech therapy sessions, our center’s specialists use a Forbrain headset, which also has bone conduction and special dynamic filters. With the help of this device, a child with phonemic hearing impairment begins to hear his mistakes and can correct them. With regular practice with Forbrain, speech improves, its fluency, pronunciation, rhythm and musicality, auditory discrimination and memory.

Correction of FFNR should be carried out comprehensively. A speech therapist conducts classes, and a neurologist prescribes therapy aimed at eliminating problems in the functioning of the nervous system (normalizing the functioning of blood vessels, nourishing the brain, etc.). In addition to classes with a speech therapist, parents should work with their child at home. To do this, the specialist gives homework.

Exercises and games to develop phonemic awareness

Game "Catch the Sound". The adult says a word, and the child’s task is to clap his hands when pronouncing a pre-agreed sound. First, choose words that begin with the desired sound. Then complicate it - the sound should be in the middle or end of the word. The task can be varied to make it more interesting for the child, and also to develop various channels of sound perception. To do this, tell your child words from the next room. After some time, you should read the text in which he will catch the desired sound. This method perfectly trains attention and concentration.

Game "Say the word." The child is told the beginning of a phrase, and he must finish it: to play, you need a game, to sew, you need... (a needle). Come up with as many similar consonances as possible.

Play Rhymes. Say a word and throw the ball to the child. He must catch it and say a rhyme in response. If the rhyme is not named, say it yourself. Start with very simple words and gradually move on to more complex ones. The game is designed for children aged 4-5 years and older.

To make an appointment with a speech therapist or neuropsychologist, call...

Stages of speech perception

N.H. Shvachkin divides the process of speech perception into 2 stages:

- prephonemic (from birth to 1 year);

- phonemic (after one year, respectively).

Prephonemic stage. The child does not distinguish between phonemes and the sound-syllable structure of a word. At this stage, the child’s sound complex has several meanings. In other words, up to 1 year of age, the semantic load is carried not by the phoneme, but by the intonation, rhythm, and general sound pattern of the word. Moreover, up to 6 months, intonation plays a leading role, and at the 6th month, rhythm takes on a semantic orientation.

Phonemic stage. “Phonological development occurs rapidly, constantly ahead of the child’s articulatory capabilities, which serves as the basis for improving pronunciation.” Until this moment, the child recognized words by sound pattern, and from that moment he began to distinguish phonemes. First, contrasting ones, then complex ones, and lastly distinguishes between acoustically similar ones.