Alalia in children is a systemic disease characterized by profound impairment of speech function, insufficient degree of its development or complete absence.
Alalia in children is a systemic disease characterized by profound impairment of speech function, insufficient degree of its development or complete absence. In this case, the patient’s hearing is not impaired, a decrease in the intellectual level is not initially observed and may be of a secondary nature.
Alalia must be differentiated from aphasia. With aphasia, the child loses speech function, but previously speech was present. With alalia, expressive or impressive speech is absent or significantly limited initially. This disorder is detected in approximately every hundredth child under 6-7 years of age; in older children it is diagnosed extremely rarely. Moreover, the pathology is detected in boys twice as often as in girls.
Alalia in children - classification of the disease:
- Sensory alalia - this form of pathology is characterized by the fact that the patient has physical hearing, but due to damage to a certain part of the brain, the speech of people is not understandable for the child.
- Motor alalia - this type of pathology is characterized by the lack of development of one’s own speech function. But the speech of other people is understandable to the child.
- Sensorimotor alalia is a mixed form of pathology with a predominance of the first or second type of disorder.
Alalia in children is diagnosed with the involvement of a wide range of specialists. These are, in particular, a neurologist, otolaryngologist, speech therapist and psychologist. All doctors should specialize in the specific characteristics of childhood diseases. During the diagnostic process, the pathology is differentiated from hearing loss, autism and some other disorders. The following methods are used for this:
- Electroencephalogram (EEG) of the brain.
- Echoencephalography.
- Diagnostics of oral speech, auditory-verbal memory, auditory function.
- Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain.
Early diagnosis of pathology is the key to successful treatment, or more precisely, correction of the disease. If a disorder is detected at 3 or 4 years of age, doctors give a favorable prognosis.
Causes and symptoms of alalia in children
The causes of the disease lie in the characteristics of intrauterine or early (up to three years) development of the child:
- Fetal hypoxia or asphyxia of the newborn.
- Intrauterine infection of the fetus leading to organic brain damage.
- Traumatization of the expectant mother (falls, blows to the stomach).
- Severe diseases of a pregnant woman of a chronic nature.
- Any pathologies of delivery, including intracranial trauma of the child.
- In the first years of life, the child suffered severe and/or long-term illnesses and surgery with general anesthesia.
An unfavorable family environment and unsatisfactory social conditions aggravate the harm caused by the main etiological factors.
Alalia symptoms:
- Motor alalia - impaired coordination of movements and motor skills, memory, hyperactivity or retardation, fatigue. Speech practically does not develop or develops with a great delay, slowly, with disturbances, the vocabulary is limited, the child uses short sentences. Due to speech dysfunction, intellectual development gradually begins to suffer.
- Sensory alalia - the child does not speak, but tries very hard, reproduces sounds and sound combinations that do not make sense. For the purpose of communication, the child actively uses facial expressions and gestures. Violation of the processes of speech development causes deviations in behavior, lag in intellectual development, and mental deviations may begin.
Statistics show that alalia in its pure form is not common. A predominantly sensorimotor form of pathology is diagnosed.
What do Soviet scientists say about motor alalia?
Valery Anatolyevich. Kovshikov wrote 70 scientific papers, most of which are devoted to the problem of motor alalia. One of the founders of the language concept.
V.A. Kovshikov conducted studies of normal and impaired speech and non-speech activity on the basis of linguistic, psycholinguistic and logopathopsychological methods, continuing and developing the traditions of the domestic psychological and speech therapy school (N.N. Traugott, V.K. Orfinskaya, A.A. Leontyev, Grinshpun B.M. et al.).
FLOW
Expressive alalia is not a static, but a dynamic disorder, which undergoes a number of significant changes during its development. All children, to one degree or another, spontaneously acquire language, despite a significant delay in the timing of its acquisition and pathological development. In the process of special education of children in preschool and school institutions, the language in the structural, structural-functional and communicative aspects is enriched and gradually approaches the norm.
Let us note the main patterns of language genesis in children with alalia.
As our research has shown (V.A. Kovshikov, 1983), the development of the sound sign system in the first - preverbal - period in children with alalia does not have any significant differences from the norm, either in structural-functional or communicative terms. In them, as in normally developing individuals, nonverbal vocalizations (screaming, crying, grunting, humming, whining, screaming, babbling, laughing, pseudo-word sounds and muttering) are involved in the formation of intonation and the prerequisites for the semantic and syntactic aspects of expressive speech. A whole series of semantic functions are formed (emotive, appellative, voluntative, regulative, relative, etc.) and a large number of meanings that make up unique semantic fields (fields of asthenic and sthenic emotions, fields of actions, relationships, etc.), as well as initial semantic-syntactic structures (“subject-action”, “object-action”, “subject-adverbial place”, etc.), which probably serve as matrices for verbal syntax.
Disruption of the development of the sound sign system in children with alalia occurs in the second - verbal - period during the mastery of verbal, linguistic signs, which, unlike the previous, non-verbal signs, have a special structure and functioning. Therefore, children cannot or find it difficult to realize their prerequisites for expressive speech in a new language form.
The genesis of language in children with alalia and in normally developing children has similar and fundamentally different features.
The similarity lies in the fact that both children go from the development of semantic functions and unique meanings, expressed by nonverbal vocalizations, to the linguistic (verbal) form of expression of these functions and meanings. For both of them, the expression of the semantic component of utterances dominates over the formal for a long time, which is especially pronounced in the early stages of language acquisition. Both of them have a certain sequence in the formation of the structural and functional side of language: the immutability of the linguistic form - its partial (mostly incorrect) change - overgeneralization and irregularity of the learned forms - the correct form.
Along with the similarities, there are significant differences. In children with alalia, the timing of the appearance of linguistic units (words, sounds, inflections, etc.) and especially the rules of their functioning are significantly behind the norm; The development of the mechanism of expressive speech in preschool age, as a rule, does not reach the norm. Until 2-3 years of age, most children with alalia either do not use verbal speech at all, or their speech has an extremely limited number of words, which are usually defective in sound and syllabic structure and which do not enter into syntactic connections with each other; If, nevertheless, the desire for connections is manifested, then their expression is abnormal: incorrect word order, lack of inflections, etc. In some children, this condition drags on for longer periods (sometimes up to the age of 4-5 years).
Children with alalia are characterized not only by a significant delay in the development of the mechanism of expressive speech, but also by its pathological development.
Thus, the volume of linguistic units related to all subsystems of the language is usually limited. The order of appearance of many units (phonemes, inflections, syntactic constructions, etc.) is different than in children with normal speech development. For example, some stops ([t], [t'], [k']) often appear earlier than some sonorants ([m]), the affricate [h] often precedes the appearance of sibilants, etc.
Children with alalia typically use language forms that are not typical for children with normal development: the use of syntactic constructions and inflections that is not normal for the norm, phoneme substitutions that are unusual for the norm, etc.
For example, replacing the genitive case with the dative (hat for the boy /boy/), the accusative with the prepositional (found a mushroom /mushroom/), the instrumental with the genitive (dig with a scoop/scoop/), etc.; the sound [w] is replaced not only by the sounds [t], [t'], [c], [c'], which is typical for the norm, but also by the sounds [h] [bump - chishka], [sch] (coils - coils ), [f] (hat - fapka), [x] (ball - harik), [d] (fur coat - oak); the sounds [v], [v'] are replaced not only by the sounds [b], [b' ], but also on [l'] (broom - lenik), [d] (girl - grandfather), [j] (mittens - yarezki) and even on the sound [r] (sofa - diran)
The communicative function of speech also differs. Children with alalia avoid communicating through speech in many situations. They often develop verbal negativism.
The development of the mechanism of expressive speech in children with alalia is characterized by a discrepancy between the violation of this mechanism and the complete or relative preservation of other speech and non-speech mechanisms of activity. These include: impressive speech, articulation, which potentially allows children to carry out a speech act, non-verbal sign systems used in speech activity (intonation, non-verbal vocalizations, “sound gestures”, onomatopoeia, facial-gestural speech), the ability to establish correct relationships between phenomena reality in a non-verbal, objective-practical form (“non-verbal thinking”).
The mechanism of language in children with alalia has been tuned for a long time to the primacy (superiority) of content to the detriment of linguistic form: sufficiently developed content (which can be judged by the non-speech activity of children and by their use of non-verbal language means in communication) is often expressed by rudimentary and defective verbal means. Of the formal linguistic means, many children over the course of a number of years have access only to those that constitute the “lowest” level of language (intonation, non-verbal vocalizations, “sound gestures”, onomatopoeia, facial-gestural speech), or the simplest means belonging to its “highest” level. level (one-word and two-word sentences, elementary syntactic connections, simple (contrasting) phonemic oppositions, “universal” syllable structure (SG), etc.).
Failure to assimilate changes in the form of language is a leading indicator of a disorder in the development of the language mechanism in children with alalia. While mastering over time a certain (sometimes relatively large) set of language units (phonemes, morphemes, words, syntactic structures), they do not master the operational rules of their functioning in the language mechanism or they master only the easiest rules to master, characteristic of the initial stages of the verbal period of normal speech development, and for a long time do not move on to other, more complex rules, at the same time using their own, defective rules. In other words, children with alalia “do not know” how to properly operate with the inventory of linguistic units they have (as we were able to verify in numerous examples, considering the mechanism of azalea; see above).
At all stages of development of verbal speech, children with alalia constantly experience alternating difficulties in operating with the structural components of language subsystems. Having partially overcome difficulties in any subsystem (for example, lexical or phonemic), they, as a rule, continue to experience difficulties in other subsystems (for example, morphological or syntactic). Overcoming difficulties at a “lower” level of organization of a particular subsystem, they often continue to experience increasing difficulties at a “higher,” complex level of its organization. For example, children can learn many syntactic structures of a sentence, but not the syntactic structure of a text. This pattern is also visible in the relationship between the development of oral and written speech systems. Many children, having satisfactorily mastered oral speech, often have great difficulty mastering the initial skills of reading and writing, and dyslexic and dysgraphic errors appear in their written speech for a long time; when dysgraphic errors partially or even completely disappear, children continue to find it difficult to express the content in writing, which is especially pronounced when independently constructing detailed texts.
The named patterns of language development in children with alalia show that its development follows a pathological type and is characterized mainly by non-assimilation and defective use of the rules for the functioning of language operations.
Typically, at the age of 3-4 years (sometimes earlier), children begin to attend specialized preschool institutions (speech therapy kindergartens, speech therapy rooms at clinics, etc.), where they receive medical and pedagogical work aimed at overcoming language and non-linguistic disorders.
In the course of this work, many children make noticeable progress. The structural and functional side of language and the communicative function of speech are formed to a certain extent, cognitive processes are improved, the range of knowledge is expanded, children master the rudiments of literacy, positive changes occur in the emotional-volitional sphere and in personality traits, in particular, speech negativism disappears or is smoothed out. However, linguistic and non-linguistic symptoms, although not as pronounced as before, continue to exist, and in some children even new ones are added to them. This is stuttering and stumbling, or a disturbance in the rhythm of speech that resembles stumbling.
Authors writing about these disorders in children with alalia believe that their occurrence is associated with articulatory difficulties that children begin to experience during the period of speech emergence when pronouncing complex sound complexes. This hypothesis has not been investigated. Another assumption can be made: stuttering occurs as a result of a violation of the construction and implementation of a motor program, but this violation, in turn, is caused by a violation of other programs included in the language process (lexical, syntactic, etc.). Of course, this assumption also needs experimental verification.
Most children, due to language and non-linguistic disorders, cannot enroll in a comprehensive school and therefore begin their education at a school for children with severe speech impairments. Only a few begin to study at a comprehensive school; usually they continue to work with them to overcome the residual effects of alalia at the speech therapy center.
Many children studying in a special school experience difficulties in mastering program material, mainly in the Russian language. Nevertheless, almost everyone completes their studies and masters the knowledge of 8 grades of secondary school. Linguistic and non-linguistic disorders are largely overcome, so that after leaving school, symptoms manifest themselves in a mild degree and are often discovered only during a special study.
The prognosis should be determined after assessing a set of factors. It is better if the child has the following indicators:
1) non-linguistic disorders are not expressed harshly (intelligence for age, behavior without pathology)
2) the microsocial environment is favorable (either a specialized kindergarten for children with STD, or parents, grandparents, etc., observing the language regime)
3) there is a need for speech (joint work of a speech therapist and parents to prevent or overcome speech negativism)
4) at least elementary syntagmatic relations in syntax are developed (presence of a sentence)
5) there are predicative words (verbs)
6) medical and pedagogical influence on the child is carried out at the early stages of his life (early examination by an ENT doctor, neurologist, early start of speech therapy work).
The prognosis is often worse if these indicators have negative characteristics and appear in combination.”
Correction and treatment of children with alalia in Khabarovsk
If a child is diagnosed with alalia, treatment should be comprehensive. That is, to include methods of psychological, medical and pedagogical orientation. The following methods of therapy are used:
- Treatment using drugs that stimulate the development of brain structures.
- Speech therapy exercises and massage aimed at developing speech and normalizing the tone of the muscles involved in sound pronunciation. Exercises should be carried out in courses, systematically.
- Microcurrent reflexology – to activate the speech areas of the cerebral cortex.
- Physical therapy, physiotherapy methods (laser and magnetic therapy, electrophoresis, water treatment).
- Stimulation of improved coordination and development of fine motor skills.
- Early teaching of children's literacy and writing.
The Neocortex center uses the most effective advanced techniques for correcting alalia in children. We have modern equipment, leading psychologists, teachers, doctors, and rehabilitation specialists cooperate with us. Carefully developed treatment programs are used.
Definition of the concept
Sensory integration is the process of organizing sensations occurring in the central nervous system, arriving simultaneously from different sensory systems (vestibular apparatus, proprioception, touch, hearing, vision, smell and taste), which ensures the harmonious functioning of the structures of the nervous system and allows a person to carry out effective adaptive interaction with environment.
Thanks to this process, information flowing simultaneously through several sensory channels is ordered and combined into a single whole, which leads to the formation of a holistic perception of the situation and creates the possibility of purposeful, meaningful action in this situation. In addition, in the process of processing sensory information, the sensations we receive are endowed with meaning, and the most important information is selected on which to focus attention at the moment.
The following example can illustrate the process. When a child plays with blocks, he feels them visually, as well as through the skin, muscles and joints of the hands, hears the sounds of the blocks knocking against each other, at the same time his brain receives information about the position of the body and its parts in space from the vestibular and muscle-articular receptors , also at this moment he can smell food being prepared in the kitchen and hear the sounds of the TV on. Thanks to the correct organization of the complex of incoming sensations in the brain, the child sees the cubes holistically, understands that these are cubes and not something else, and can perform purposeful actions with them (for example, fold a tower), while maintaining a certain body posture and not being distracted by smells and sounds that are unimportant in a given situation.
The development of information processing processes occurs during the child’s active and varied interaction with the outside world. In the first 7 years of life, the child’s brain is configured, first of all, to process sensory information, the child’s perception and thinking are based directly on the sensations received, and the activity is predominantly motor in nature. The successful sensorimotor development of children during this age period contributes to the further development of their mental and social skills. Thus, sensory integration developed by children in early childhood and preschool age during games, speaking, and physical activity is the basis for more complex integration necessary for the development of writing, reading, counting and other educational programs, as well as for adequate social behavior and ability cope with problems.
