OHP level 1: symptoms, diagnosis, characteristics, corrective work

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With normal speech development, children aged 4-5 years freely use phrasal speech, construct complex sentences, and have more than 3,000 thousand words in their active vocabulary. After 5 years, sound pronunciation is fully formed. These are average standards. If by the age of 2-3 the baby does not speak at all or uses only a few words to communicate with others, grossly violates the grammatical and phonetic rules of the Russian language, then the parents may suspect that he has level 1 OHP. What it is, how to diagnose it and treat it correctly, we will tell you in our article.

Definition

General speech underdevelopment of level 1 is a severe form of speech defect, typical for “speechless” children with a normal level of intelligence and healthy hearing. Such a child exhibits violations of all components of the language system, and non-compliance with language norms is very gross. Children with level 1 ODD violate the rules of phonetics, grammar, vocabulary, and phonetics. Their speech is incoherent, similar to babbling, or it is almost absent. This disease can be detected and diagnosed from 3-4 years of age.

The term “general speech underdevelopment” (GSD) was introduced into science by the Soviet teacher, psychologist, researcher at the Institute of Defectology of the RSFSR, Research Institute of Defectology - Rosa Evgenievna Levina.

She developed the concept of general underdevelopment of speech in the 1960s - this became the main merit of R. E. Levina in science and pedagogy, on the basis of this work she defended her doctoral dissertation.

After a long study of younger preschoolers, Levina came to the conclusion that it is speech underdevelopment that often leads to failure in school. She developed a method of correctional work for OPD levels 1-3, tested it in practice and proved its effectiveness.

The characteristics of level 1 OHP are described in detail in the scientific work of R. E. Levina “Fundamentals of the theory and practice of speech therapy,” published in 1967. This book is useful for practicing speech therapists, psychologists, and speech pathologists.

Prevention

Preventive measures flow smoothly from the causes of violations:

• For a woman planning to become a mother, it is important to prepare herself and her body for bearing a baby, take good care of herself, see a doctor, and follow all his recommendations.
• Unfortunately, the moment of childbirth does not always depend on the expectant mother - the main role here is played by medical personnel, or rather by the professionalism and responsibility of each individual employee. The woman, in turn, can have a positive attitude towards the process of childbirth.
• The first year of a baby's life is the most important. The sooner a violation can be detected, the sooner treatment and corrective work can begin.

Causes

The etiology of level 1 OHP in children is always associated with harmful effects on the baby’s body during the prenatal and postnatal period. The formation of correct speech and its development according to age are adversely affected by:

• Toxicosis in the expectant mother
• Fetal hypoxia during pregnancy and childbirth
• Presence of Rh conflict between fetus and mother
• Head injuries
• Prematurity
• Infections
• CNS damage
• Encephalopathy
• Primary defects: alalia, aphasia, dysarthria, rhinolalia

In a small number of children, type 1 OHP becomes the result of pedagogical neglect, social isolation, lack of verbal communication, and emotional tension in the family.

General characteristics of OHP levels 2,3 and 4

Level 2 OHP is characterized by an increase in speech activity. In communication, the child uses a constant, but still distorted and narrow stock of words. At this level, the child is able to differentiate objects, actions, use pronouns, some conjunctions and prepositions. The child actively reacts to pictures that are familiar in nature, that is, for example, to objects that surround him in everyday life.

Speech is built from elementary sentences (2-3, in rare cases 4 words are used). The child cannot name the color or shape of an object, so he tries to replace unfamiliar words with a phrase that is close in meaning.

The third level of OHP is characterized by the development of detailed everyday speech. In this case, incomplete knowledge of some words is noted, as well as incorrect composition of certain grammatical forms. Most often, children in this group suffer from impaired auditory differentiation of sounds. The main distinguishing feature of this degree is considered to be the inability to form words, confusion in cases and verbal forms.

The fourth level of OHP is detected during a detailed diagnosis, because in life many parents do not pay attention to minor speech defects. The main problem of these children is the inability to retain the phonemic image of a word, as well as a violation of sound differentiation.

Pathogenesis

General speech underdevelopment develops in children against the background of other primary defects. This is aphasia, alalia, when a child’s active speech and its understanding are grossly upset. In other cases, OHP develops due to anatomical defects of the speech apparatus - rhinolalia, dysarthria. With such defects, sound pronunciation, syllabic composition, vocabulary and grammar of speech disintegrate.

According to researchers, preschoolers with ODD lag behind their peers not only in speech indicators, but also intellectually and physically. This is due to the timing of speech maturation, the ability to learn new things, and socialize.

Recommendations

One of the most important and important recommendations is the joint work of the child, parents and specialists (doctors, speech therapist, psychologist, teacher).

After all, if a preschooler visits a speech therapist, works with him, and at home does not make any efforts to consolidate the skills he has developed, there will not be a proper and necessary effect or he will have to wait a significant amount of time for it. Many parents believe that if a speech therapist or psychologist works with a child, then this is quite enough and they do not need to do anything. This is not so, all new skills and achievements of children must be repeated and improved in familiar situations, they must develop the habit of pronouncing sounds or words correctly.

Signs

Children with this diagnosis are extremely limited in communication. They use several words, onomatopoeia, facial expressions and gestures to convey thoughts and express requests. At the same time, word forms are greatly distorted, sounds are pronounced defectively, and syllables are unclear. One word is used to name several objects or actions. For example, bai means sleep, bed, fatigue.

Level 1 OHP in a child is characterized by several more signs:

• Words are used in their root form, there are no inflections.
• There is no difference between singular and plural.
• Prepositions are not used.
• The child does not distinguish the gender of nouns and past tense verbs.
• The syllable structure is not perceived.
• In everyday life, a limited set of words and memorized phrases are used, which are repeated many times.
• Complex words are reduced to 1-2 syllables.
• Some children use babbling sentences to express thoughts, while the words are distorted and combined without prepositions or inflections. For example, bibi tutu (the car has driven away), gai ball (playing ball).
• When composing a story, description of an event, or a picture, preschoolers reduce sentences to one word, or at best two. "Papa Tutu. Bibi. Gave." This means: dad left by car, and I was waiting for him.
• The passive vocabulary is much richer than the active one. Researchers of the defect claim that children with ODD understand everything, but cannot express it.
• Understanding speech outside of a situation is difficult. When addressing or requesting a child, an image of an event or object in the picture is required.
• If level 1 ODD is detected in a child at 3-4 years of age, correction is carried out competently, and by 7-8 years of age the disorder can be completely eliminated.

Comparative features of speech development disorders

The characteristics of the pathology identified in a child depend on the severity of symptoms:

As can be seen from the table, each level has its own characteristic features and the first is the most difficult.

Characteristic

Children with level 1 ODD up to 2-3 years of age are almost no different from their peers in terms of their psychological portrait. Parents do not notice speech defects, attributing babbling and crumpled phrases to the age characteristics of the baby.

When a child is forced to socialize and leave the family circle, the problem becomes more obvious. A preschooler has difficulties with communication, as he grows up his mental abilities are inhibited, preparation for the first grade and studying at school are difficult. If a child is critical of a speech defect from an early age, he withdraws into himself and can become aggressive and unsociable. Self-isolation from communication aggravates the child’s psychological state.

Thus, preschoolers with level 1 OHP can be characterized, from a psychological point of view, as follows:

1. Increased anxiety.
2. Low self-esteem.
3. They perceive failure acutely, although they strive to achieve success in any endeavor.
4. It is easier for them to express anger, joy, and resentment through facial expressions and gestures than through long statements.
5. The interactive function suffers when building communication.
6. The focus of adults on the child’s lack of speech increases the child’s fears, so in the presence of strangers, demanding teachers and parents, they are tense and cannot fully grasp the content of educational material.
7. Emotional experiences are stable and intense.

Speech therapist Olga Bazhina, an expert on our website, has prepared a psychological and pedagogical description of children with general speech underdevelopment:

Psychological and pedagogical characteristics of children with special needs development

OHP classification

Paying attention to the clinical composition of the category of children with OHP, three groups can be distinguished:

• ODD is an uncomplicated form, which is characterized by the presence of minimal brain dysfunction, manifested in incomplete control of muscle tone, motor transformations, as well as the manifestation of immature behavior in the emotional-volitional sphere.
• A complicated form of OHP is observed in children suffering from neurological or psychological syndromes, for example, cerebrasthenic, convulsive or hyperdynamic.
• Children who have organic defects in the speech areas of the brain are susceptible to developing severe speech underdevelopment.

Based on the degree of OHP, four levels are distinguished:

• Level 1 of speech development is characterized by the absolute absence of commonly used speech - “speechless children.”
• At the 2nd level of speech development, the use of initial elements of speech, a poor vocabulary, and also the manifestation of agrammatism are noted.
• If a child has developed phrasal speech, but the sound and semantic aspects are not fully developed, then we are talking about the 3rd level of speech development.
• At the 4th level of speech development, minor shortcomings are observed in the phonetic-phonemic, as well as lexical-grammatical aspects of speech

Diagnostics

The diagnosis of level 1 OHP should be made on the basis of a comprehensive examination. The final decision is made by a speech therapist or defectologist. To draw up an accurate picture and study the anamnesis, consultations with the following specialists will be required:

• Neurologist: evaluates the general conditions of the central nervous system.

• Pediatrician: Gives a description of the child's general health from birth to this period.

• Psychologist: assesses the child's sensory, motor and intellectual development.

The speech therapist studies the conclusions of highly specialized doctors and draws up his own picture of the child’s speech state during a conversation with the child and parents. This work is carried out in several stages:

1. A child’s development chart is filled out from the parents’ words and descriptions of physical health compiled by a pediatrician. The speech therapist gets to know the preschooler and establishes contact.
2. The components of the baby’s speech, motor skills during conversation and play are studied.
3. Manifestations of the defect in dynamic observation are clarified. The child is asked questions that require a detailed answer, his level of curiosity and desire to communicate are assessed.
4. The syllabic and sound structure of the word, the coherence of speech, and the correctness of grammatical structure are carefully examined.

If a child is diagnosed with general speech underdevelopment of level 1, he needs to be referred to a speech therapy group in a kindergarten. The certificate is issued by the PMPK (psychological-medical-pedagogical commission). The conclusion about referral for speech therapy help in a preschool institution is given on the basis of examinations by specialized specialists, including a speech therapist.

At an advanced stage of mental retardation, level 1-2 OHP, you can apply for disability for a period of 1 year or longer. You need to pass the PMPC, VTEC (medical and labor expert commission). Disability benefits are a good way to pay for the services of a speech pathologist and speech therapist.

Principles of therapy

Correction and treatment of this pathology is carried out by several specialists who use various methods and techniques:

• A speech therapist should begin his work by developing an understanding of the speech of others.
• Gradually accumulate means of communication (increasing vocabulary, expanding the meanings of words, forming correct sound pronunciation).
• Mastering various forms of communication.

Corrective speech therapy work should be combined with concomitant treatment - taking medications, physiotherapy, which will promote and stimulate the maturation of the central nervous system.

Particular attention should be paid to fine motor skills, since training the muscle tone of the fingers helps to activate the brain centers responsible for speech. Finger exercises, games with ice, dough, sandpaper, contrasting hand baths, Kuznetsov’s applicator, etc. have proven their effectiveness.

A favorable prognosis is when the pathology is detected on time and timely treatment and logocorrection are started. If parents are not interested, then the consequences will be sad.