The work experience outlines special methods and techniques that allow you to establish contact with an autistic child, and also outlines the stages of speech therapy work that allows you to develop expressive and impressive speech in autistic and developmentally delayed children.
Momot Z.N.,
teacher-defectologist of the MDOU "Nursery-garden No. 398 of the city of Donetsk"
Experience in speech therapy work with children with intellectual disabilities and autistic development.
Momot Z.N.,
teacher-defectologist at MDOU “Nursery-Sad” No. 398 in Donetsk.
Currently, in kindergartens, among students in special (correctional) groups for children with reduced intelligence, the number of children with autism and lack of speech or speech impairment has increased significantly.
It is with the complaint “my child does not speak” that parents seek advice from a defectologist or speech therapist.
Therefore, speech therapy assistance when working with children with autism spectrum disorders remains relevant. I want to share my experience in speech therapy work with children with intellectual and autistic developmental disorders.
In autism, communication features are distinguished, provided that speech has not completely disintegrated:
Speech is not directed towards the interlocutor;
The child does not engage in dialogue;
During the speech period there is no expression, no gestures, the melody of speech is disturbed;
The pronunciation of sounds is either correct or incorrect;
There are deviations in tone, speed, rhythm, there is no intonation transition, constant echolalia, incoherence and inability to carry on a conversation.
When planning education for children with mental retardation and autism, I consider autism first.
To restore speech, I use methodological techniques adapted to childhood autism, which allow us to take into account both the negativism of children and the characteristics of their speech disorders. In case of incomplete loss of speech, I first determine the level speech development the child, his vocabulary, the development of imitative, receptive and expressive speech. I identify the understanding of spoken speech, the level of sound pronunciation, the ability to name objects, actions, the use of pronouns in relation to oneself and others, as well as the ability to compose phrases
The main form of organizing educational work is individual and subgroup lessons.
I conduct classes every day. I conduct subgroup classes with 2, 3 to 4 children, selecting children according to their development level. I conduct classes every day,
Including individual ones last from 10 to 30 minutes
I divide the work on developing communication skills into two areas:
Training in verbal communication methods;
Education alternative ways communications.
In my practice, I use verbal methods of communication, which I divide into preparatory and main stages of work.
Main areas of work at the preparatory stage:
This is establishing contact with an autistic child, involving all analyzers.
At the initial stage of correction, a reaction of revitalization, visual and ocular-manual tracking is formed. The child learns to follow the movements of his own hand, objects grasped by the child’s hand. At this stage of correction, in the process of manipulating objects, I strive to develop tactile, muscular, kinesthetic, visual perception of objects, to work out connections between all types of movements, actions and perception of objects, and later their verbal designation. The main task of this stage is to overcome fear. To successfully implement this stage, I use a gentle sensory atmosphere: I conduct classes individually, in a separate room, in a low voice, without sudden movements, sometimes without direct eye contact, without a direct question addressed to the child. At this stage, I use a number of techniques, such as rocking the child, stroking him, touching his arms, head, pressing him to me, using games that suit the child’s interests: pouring water, pouring cereal, etc. I encourage the child to show the slightest activity.
At the initial stage of correction, I devote a lot of attention to special “speech” massage of the hands, fingers, fingertips, wrists, forearms, face, neck, feet with stimulation of active speech points. Against the background of the massage, finger movements become clearer and approach normal. muscle tone hands, forearms, facial expressions are enlivened.
In without speech games with fingers I develop movements in the joints, differentiated movements of the fingers, practice imitation, muscle strength of the hands.
At the main training stage, the work is aimed at developing speech skills and sensorimotor standards necessary for the formation of communicative behavior.
Development of auditory and visual attention
Developing the ability to use nonverbal communication methods
Development of fine and articulatory motor skills
Development of physiological and speech breathing
Development of a sense of rhythm
Passive vocabulary accumulation
Provoking vocalizations, teaching onomatopoeia
Formation of the ability to understand spoken speech
Development of motivation for verbal communication
Dictionary expansion
Non-speech sounds play a big role in a person’s orientation in the world around them. Autistic children do not perceive non-speech sounds well and do not rely on them in their life, which leads to accidents. Correctional training in music classes, taking into account the development of musical hearing in autistic people, leads to the development of non-speech hearing, as well as with the help of special didactic games, such as: “Guess whose voice”, “Where is it ringing?”, “What did they play?” etc.
When developing speech hearing, I use auditory-visual perception of a word, when the child not only hears the voice, but also sees the lips of the speaker. I also use perception with visual support. Auditory perception is easier than auditory perception. Therefore, every time a child finds it difficult to perceive words by ear, I turn to auditory-visual perception. Use didactic games: “Frog”, “Who Lives in the House”, etc.
To strengthen the “eye-hand” complex and develop the small muscles of the hand, I conduct active games with the fingers, accompanied by speech. I use nursery rhymes that not only provide good finger training, so necessary for autistic people with sluggish hands, but also create a favorable emotional background.
Speech therapy work is the most important in the correction of childhood autism.
The main stages of its implementation.
On I stage, if speech has completely broken down, then I begin restoration from the level of phonemes and syllables, then individual words. For a non-speaking child, I begin lessons by naming sounds through imitation using movements (phonemic rhythms), combining them into syllables, words and melodious pronunciation.
I always accompany learning a new word by showing an object, giving it to the child, and repeating its name many times.
Learning to speak begins with the very first step - introducing a simple concept: "If I do something, I will get something." If the child does not speak, you need to create a strong motivation for communication. The only way to create motivation is reinforcement. Sign language can be a good transition to colloquial speech, since it is implemented in a form of communication that is easy to suggest and therefore easy to reinforce. In order to teach the simplest gesture - pointing with a finger at the desired object - you need to create motivation - put the object in an inaccessible place. The child expresses his request in a certain sequence.
Levels of acquisition of the skill of expressing a request (demand). [R. Schramm. Childhood autism and ABA.]
Crying to get the desired object.
Crying near the desired object.
Pulling someone by the hand towards a desired object.
Indication of the desired object.
Using alternative communication (sign language) to obtain the desired object.
Using an imprecisely spoken word or sound to obtain an object.
Using a correctly pronounced word as a request.
Saying a simple sentence.
A request in the form of a detailed sentence containing a description of the subject.
Mentioning a desired item as a way to persuade someone to provide it.
Therefore, when teaching the “request” skill, you need to take into account the level of development of the skill and move on in turns, for example: a child cries near the desired object, you need to teach him to extend his hand, etc.During classes with a child, we practice the pointing gesture. To do this, I grab the brush and index finger I trace three-dimensional objects around the child, outline them, and name them.
During initial speech activity, I combine gestures with speech. Therefore, after showing and naming the object: “This is a doll,” the instruction follows: “Give me the doll,” and then: “What is this?” I constantly teach children how to use defining words and answer words. Lexicon I am expanding gradually. To maximize it, I shorten and simplify the form of the language - its grammar. I achieve this by reducing the length of phrases and using separate command words (“sit down,” “stand up,” “walk”). I omit the secondary words. From lesson to lesson (as I progress in speech development), I gradually complicate the content of the language. I build short and then more common sentences in addressed speech. I move from simple, concrete, visible things and actions to abstract concepts. I ask the same questions repeatedly and without changing the content, word for word. I simplify sign language to the same extent as dictionary language. I show the proposed instructions with a gesture. For example, I say: “Take a pencil,” and I show this with gestures. Thus, as linguistic understanding develops, sentences become increasingly common and complex in structure. Phrases are also taught using the events depicted in the pictures. I combine words with a specific situation.
On II stage I use conjugate speech. The image in the picture and what I said, the child learns to name it himself through repetition. At this stage of correction I use voice exercises, work on staging and automating sounds. I am working on the intonation of speech, training the timbre of the voice when the child pronounces his own phrases, and setting the emphasis.
On III stage - I use question forms that contain almost the complete answer required from the child. For example, “What does the girl collect?” - Answer: “The girl picks apples.” I offer question forms using visual material. Only after this, relying on visual material, do I ask the child to verbally determine what is drawn in the picture.
On IV stage - own expressive speech appears. At this stage, I begin to compile a whole story based on certain pictures and their series. Next, I conduct classes with a coherent text, consisting of conversations on certain topics, retelling on leading questions short texts, dramatization, as well as work on poetic speech and its fluency. I try to teach children conversation skills, dialogues (social use of speech), offering topics that are interesting and important for the child.
I clearly differentiate all these stages and use them when working with an autistic child.
The main principle of teaching speech skills is the systematic repetition of speech material on the topic under study in group classes with a defectologist, consolidation of acquired knowledge on a walk with a teacher and in a home environment with parents.
Literature.
L.G. Nurieva Speech development in autistic children. M., 2010.
R. Schramm Childhood autism and ABA.
Elena Safonova
Features of speech therapy work with autistic children
MKDOU Bogucharsky combined kindergarten "Spring"
(using computer presentation)
« Features of speech therapy work with autistic children».
Made up:
Teacher - speech therapist
Safonova Elena Gennadievna
Boguchar 2017
Target:
Definition of the concept autism.
Practical introduction to Features of speech therapy work with autistic children.
Clarifying difficulties in work as a speech therapist with a child with Kanner syndrome
Familiarization with the stages work of a speech therapist.
Equipment: multimedia installation, computer presentation.
What's happened autism?
Autism is a disorder, arising as a result of disorders of brain development and characterized by severe and comprehensive deficits social interaction and communication, as well as limited interests and repetitive actions. All of these signs begin to appear before the age of three. Similar conditions with milder signs and symptoms are disorders autism spectrum. Autism is a severe developmental disorder that persists throughout life.
The creation of a comprehensive system continues to be an urgent problem in domestic correctional pedagogy. psychologically- pedagogical support for children with autism. The fact that in Russia society is gradually beginning to recognize the need for education and social adaptation of children suffering from complex forms of developmental disorders forces specialists to think more and more about how to build a system work with this contingent. Syndrome autism It is often part of a complex defect, where it plays a role no less important than other disorders, for example, intellectual, speech, and motor impairment. This is due to the fact that communication disorders as such are the main obstacle to the development of all mental functions, even with their potential preservation. We will focus on some aspects working with children with severe and complicated forms autism.
U autistic children experience a wide range of speech disorders, and very often speech therapist is the person who should carry out the initial diagnosis of development autistic child and coordinate the family for further action.
Let us recall that the main symptoms of delay and distortion of speech development vary depending on the group autism.
Thus, in children of the first group we observe almost complete absence external speech. Rare words or short phrases uttered by a child at the height of passion suggest that he understands speech at least partially.
The speech of children of the second group is characterized by echolalia; there is also a small set of stereotypical short phrases, or received by the child in some affective situation. Children of the second group have stereotypical requests and appeals in which the verb is used in the infinitive ( "Drink juice", "Give cookies", and the child speaks about himself in the second or third person ( “Sasha will draw”). But often such children prefer to contact and ask not in the usual way, but by shouting or simply trying to let you down adult To to the right place and poke his hand into the object of interest to them.
Children of the third group have developed literary speech, but at the same time almost no capable of dialogue, do not hear the interlocutor, although they quote entire pages of their favorite books or discuss their favorite topic.
In a child of the fourth group, we encounter quiet, unclear speech and echolalia, sometimes delayed in time. Such a child asks and addresses, as a rule, with the help of speech, but retelling is difficult for him.
At working with children diagnosed with ASD, RDA cannot speak only about the corrective effect, as everyone is accustomed to understanding work as a speech therapist. Correction means correction; but it is impossible to correct sound pronunciation or start work to improve lexical and grammatical skills, if communication skills are impaired child's speech characteristics.
Main goals speech therapy work for autism:
Establishing emotional contact with the child;
Finding out the child’s level of contact with a stranger (i.e. speech therapist)
Primary speech examination (her understanding);
Speech understanding training;
Expressive speech training.
Speech therapist carries out the first step of primary diagnosis - monitoring the child. This method makes it possible to formulate initial ideas about the object of observation or check the initial assumptions associated with it. Therefore, the observation method plays a decisive role in the search for differential diagnostic criteria.
In order to clarify the picture of the holistic development of the child speech therapist can use diagnostic card, developed by K. S. Lebedinskaya and O. S. Nikolskaya. Exploring the sphere of communication, speech therapist it is necessary to pay attention to visual contact, features of the revitalization complex, recognition of loved ones, formation of attachment to close people, reaction to a new person, contact with children, attitude to physical contact, reaction to verbal appeals, lack of response to a name, selectivity of responses to speech, lack of an adequate gesture, behavior alone, attitude to the environment, “lack” of differentiation between animate and inanimate.
Majority speech therapy methods remain adapted for diagnosing the level of speech development of children with autism, when the focus should be on examining speech understanding and communicative use. Description speech therapy examination and correction work, built on the methodological foundations of applied behavioral analysis, we can see at S. S. Morozova in the section “TRAINING SPEECH AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS”.
Directions speech therapy correction for autism.
1. Speech Comprehension Test (impressive speech).
First of all, the child’s understanding of speech is examined in a spontaneous situation. They study whether the child understands statements that contain words that are affectively significant for him. What is meant? By observation or in conversation with parents, they find out what the child loves, what is for him especially significant.
Then they check whether the child performs verbal instructions: a) in the context of what is happening; b) outside the context of what is happening. In the first case, the child is asked to do something in line with what he is doing. For example, if he is playing with a railroad, you can say: "Put the carriage on the rails".
In the second case, the child is given instructions that are not related to what he is doing, For example: "Come here", "Give me a cube" etc. When assessing understanding of instructions, assistance should be avoided (for example, gestures) for more accurate information. Instructions must be presented in different contexts and situations.
If the child's behavior changes in a visible way - for example, he turns his head towards the speaker or approaches him, we can assume that he has at least partially understood the statement.
During observation of the child's spontaneous behavior, various vocalizations and sounds of extralaryngeal origin are recorded. Attention is drawn to the presence of spontaneous imitation of various sounds and words; expression of demands or refusals; echolalia is recorded; The child’s own spontaneous statements are noted.
After observing the child, they may be repeated, speech therapist starts to make a plan work. To do this, he draws up an individual program, where he records his stages work.
2. Development of speech understanding (emotional and semantic commentary, plot drawing). Speech therapist, participating in psychologically- pedagogical support of a child with autism, must learn to carry out emotional and semantic commentary as a necessary element of classes. This is the only adequate way to ensure that the child is included in reality, aware of what is happening around him, and understands speech.
Before starting training, it is necessary to analyze the entire range of speech skills that the child has. Training begins with the skills that are easiest for him; the degree of difficulty is determined individually.
Necessary prerequisites for starting training are partial formation "learning behavior", performance simple instructions(including, "Give" And "Show me"). These instructions will be needed to help you learn to understand the names of objects.
3. Development of the ability to actively use speech (disinhibition of external speech).
At autism to a greater extent than with any other disorder, there is a noticeable difference between what the child understands and what he can pronounce. But the reason is absolutely special: This is the absence or decline of speech initiative, which we must restore and develop. The most complex, time-consuming and least predictable in terms of pace and results is work with"non-speaking" children(first group or mixed case with signs of both the first and second groups).
4. Disinhibition of speech in such children occurs simultaneously in three directions:
Provoking involuntary imitation of action, facial expressions, intonation adult.
Such involuntary imitation can become a prerequisite for voluntary imitation - auditory, and then verbal.
5. Provoking the child to echolalia and involuntary verbal reactions.
At the right moment in the game, when you have managed to focus the child’s attention on your face, you can, for example, make a grimace of surprise, of course, with a suitable comment. In general, it is important for us to ensure that a non-speaking child looks at our face and mouth as often as possible at the very moment when we say something. We achieve this with the help of physical rhythms, the rhythms of the child’s movement. This Job takes a lot of time. In most cases, this lasts up to six months.
6. Formation of expressive skills (active) speeches
This stage begins with learning the skill of imitating sounds and articulatory movements.
Sounds and articulatory movements should be selected individually; it is preferable to use those that occur in the child’s spontaneous behavior. Examples of articulatory movements: open your mouth, show your tongue, brush your teeth, puff out your cheeks, blow, etc.
Study of the results obtained work practicing teachers showed that special speech therapy is one of the most important in the correction autistic behavior, emotional and mental underdevelopment in children with early childhood autism.
List of used literature.
1. Morozova S. S. Autism: correctional Job in severe and complicated forms. - M.: Humanitarian. ed. VLADOS center, 2007.
2. Nurieva L. G. Speech development in autistic children. - M.: Terevinf, 2006.
3. Lebedinskaya K. S., Nikolskaya O. S. Diagnostic card. Examination of a child in the first two years of life, assuming he has early childhood autism.
Topic 1. Subject and objectives of the course.
Basic concepts “Children with early childhood autism”, “Children with autism spectrum disorders”. “Special educational environment”, conditions for creating a learning environment. Autism is a developmental disorder. A defect in the system responsible for the perception of external stimuli causes the child to react acutely to some phenomena of the external world and almost not notice others. Temple Grandin, DSM-III-R, K. Gilberg, T. Peters, World Health Organization (WHO)
Topic 2. Causes of autism. Early symptoms of autism. Pathopsychology and pathophysiology of autism
Symptoms of autism can also appear in a previously normally developing child; this occurs in the interval from 1.5 to 3 years. Autistic manifestations indicate that the child has a deviation from the norm towards higher or lower sensitivity in the perception of the world. Causes – genetic factor, multifactorial mechanism hypothesis, Organic damage to the central nervous system, psychogenic factor, environmental factors
Research on the development of the child’s emotional sphere and the emotional states of children was carried out by researchers O. Nikolskaya and others. In preschool childhood, emotions dominate the child’s life. Due to the complication of the child’s relationship with the outside world, during this period the characteristics of emotions, their strength, duration, and stability change. The moods and emotional experiences of a preschooler influence the formation of self-esteem. The predominant coloring of the emotions experienced influences the child’s positive or negative self-acceptance. Emotions play an important role in the lives of children, as they help the child adapt to any situation. Throughout ontogenesis, emotions play an orienting and regulating role in the activity in which they are formed. A number of works are devoted to the analysis of interaction in the mother-child dyad and the description of its dynamics at different age periods - , 1983; , 1974; , 1978; . 1977; , 1982. The possibility of synchronizing their emotional states: contagion with a smile, syntony in mood and experience of what is happening around . Realization of the baby’s primary need for stability and emotional comfort (E. Erickson, 1992). Formation of individual attachment - (Ainsworth M. D., 1962, etc.). The emergence of sign orientation (positive, negative, or neutral)
The beginning of speech development is understanding and repeating the mother’s intonation, expressing one’s states and pronouncing phonemes of the native language. Speech development is directly dependent on the formation of mechanisms of affective organization of behavior. Development of “egocentric speech” (J. Piaget). For Vygotsky, one of its most important functions is planning. It is the possibility of planning - setting and maintaining a common semantic perspective in the future that will give the child the opportunity to safely emerge from the crisis of the first year.
The period of early childhood (beginning with the exit from the first affective crisis and ending with the entry into a new crisis at the age of 3) is one of the most intense and eventful periods of the child’s emotional development. The child continues to actively master individual ways of affectively organizing his relationships with the world. Experiments with speech: having barely learned to speak, he tries to rhyme. Now he begins to really use the toy, extracting from it all the possible sensory properties and functional qualities that it possesses.
Preschool childhood is characterized as “the period of the initial actual formation of personality, the period of development of personal mechanisms of behavior” (1975; p. 145). At this moment, the elements of the child’s self-awareness are finally formed, and the active development of his motivational-need sphere and voluntary behavior occurs. An important new development is the formation of a stable system of value-based emotional relationships in accordance with the different significance for the child of objects in the surrounding world (such objects are people, objects, images, ideas and perceptions, actions). Wherein emotional relationships serve as criteria for the child’s emotional assessments of observed phenomena and depend on the nature of his emotional experience (, 2003). The child’s emotional behavior is also determined by his own assessment of his actions. All this leads to the emergence of a more differentiated emotional response of the child (1998).
Topic 4. Groups of children with RDA
First option. Children are calm, “comfortable”, passively obey all regime requirements, are flexible and pliable to their mother’s manipulations, and obediently take the desired position in her arms. They react early to an adult’s face, respond with a smile to his smile, but do not actively demand contact and do not ask to be held. They easily become infected from any smiling adult, from communication between adults, from lively conversation around them. Relatives characterize him as a “radiant, shining child.” They calmly go into the arms of a stranger, the “fear of strangers” has not appeared, they don’t put anything in their mouth until they are a year old, they can be left alone in a crib or playpen for a long time, knowing that they will not protest. They were particularly sensitive to sensory stimuli of increased intensity, especially sounds. They prefer dim toys, stare at monochromatic engravings for a long time and have no interest in colorful reproductions. At 1 year of age, they fall under the influence of the surrounding sensory field and are completely immersed in the experience of their dynamics, while the child does not react to a strong stimulus, to pain or cold, and a pronounced reaction to a loud sound disappears. From an early age, such children looked like contemplators. They did not actively use toys, did not strive to pick up anything, but even before the age of one year they showed a special interest in books, loved to listen to the reading of good poetry, classical music, and were particularly fascinated by light and movement. But as soon as the children mastered walking skills, the situation changed dramatically. A previously passive, calm, peaceful baby becomes almost uncontrollable. An autistic child does not accumulate the experience of concentration in common with an adult, so individual stereotypes of relationships with the world do not develop, and ways of interacting with loved ones are not formed. One of the characteristic signs of this variant of autistic development is mutism.
Second option. They are more active, more demanding in expressing their desires and displeasure, and more selective in their first contacts with the outside world and with loved ones. They do not observe passive submission in the usual procedures of feeding, dressing, putting to bed, bathing, etc.; the child rather dictates to the mother how he should be treated, accepting or actively rejecting the demands of routine moments of self-care. Therefore, the first stereotypes of a child’s interaction with his environment are formed very early and are strictly supported. The baby begins to isolate his mother early, but the attachment is primitive symbiotic relationship. The constant presence of his mother is necessary for him as the main condition of existence. By two or three years, the requirement to maintain the constancy of the details of the environment increases and already looks like a pathological symptom of a developmental disorder. However, for a child, violation of these natural habits is comparable to a real threat to life. It is often a problem to introduce complementary foods, switch from liquid to solid foods, and expand the usual diet. These are usually the children with the greatest food selectivity. In the first years of life, extreme stability of a limited set of possible contacts with the environment develops and remains for a long time. A certain set of habitual actions accumulates, which make up the child’s every day; he does not allow them to be changed: the same walking route, listening to the same book or music recording, constantly holding the same toy or some object in his hand (for example, mom's shirt, chopsticks), the same food. Quite complex rituals can be formed that the child reproduces in certain situations, and they can look quite acceptable and completely ridiculous and inadequate. From an early age, the child shows special sensitivity to the sensory parameters of the surrounding world. Very often, already before the age of one year, there is an increased interest in the shape, color, and texture of surrounding objects. At first, such subtlety of perception can give rise to a feeling in the child’s loved ones that he is wonderful. intellectual development. At the same time, such sensitivity to sensory sensations already at an early age gives rise to quite complex and varied forms of autostimulation in children with this developmental variant - rocking, jumping and shaking their hands in front of their eyes. Then, a special concentration gradually increases on the sensations of tension in individual muscles and joints, freezing in a characteristic position upside down. At the same time, teeth grinding, masturbation, playing with the tongue, with saliva, licking, and sniffing objects begin to attract attention. The child is looking for special tactile sensations that arise from irritation of the surface of the palm, from the texture of paper, fabric, from sorting and delamination of fibers, squeezing plastic bags, spinning wheels. The stage of development, which is characterized by monotonous repeated manipulations with objects, ends by the end of the first year of life. They are naturally being replaced by more complex shapes handling objects in which the child is already beginning to use the functional properties of toys or objects. An autistic child is so captivated by the effects of certain sensory sensations once they arise that his stereotypical manipulations are fixed. Numerous fears easily arise at an early age and remain relevant for a number of years. What is unusual is the severity of this reaction and its irresistibility. Children's excessive sensitivity to sensory stimulation is the reason that fears are easily provoked by stimuli of increased intensity: loud sound, saturated color. Such a child may be particularly sensitive to stimuli of certain modalities (for example, tactile), and then even a moderate irritant (touching the head, a drop of juice or water on the skin) can cause severe discomfort and fear. A generalized fear arises, caused by a change in the usual living conditions. It can be especially difficult to experience a change of place of residence, moving to the dacha and back, mother going to work, placement in a nursery and other events. Under their influence, an autistic child may have disturbed sleep, lose acquired skills by this time, experience speech regression, increased autostimulation activity, and the appearance of self-injury. He develops only the simplest everyday, social and gaming skills, which are strictly tied to the situation in which they arose. In the same way, his speech remains within the boundaries of using ready-made speech cliches.
Third option. Sensory vulnerability in the first year of life is typical for these children. They often had serious diathesis and a tendency to allergic reactions. In the first months of life, the child could be whiny, restless, have difficulty falling asleep, and cannot be easily calmed down. He felt uncomfortable and was spinning in his mother’s arms or was very tense. Increased muscle tone was often noted. Impetuosity, abruptness of movements, and motor restlessness could be combined with a lack of “sense of edge.” The child identifies loved ones early and certainly becomes attached to the mother. There was not enough tangible emotional return from the baby. Usually his activity in emotional manifestations was expressed in the fact that he strictly dosed them. In some cases - by maintaining a distance in communication (such children are described by their parents as unaffectionate, cold - “they will never rest their heads on their shoulders”). In other cases, dosing was carried out by limiting the time of contact: the child could be emotional, even passionate, could give the mother an adoring look, but then suddenly abruptly stop communicating, without reciprocating her attempts to continue contact. When adults try to interact more actively with the child and eliminate the unwanted distance in communication, early aggression could arise. When children with this type of development acquired the skills of independent movement, they fell under the influence of field trends. However, here it was not the sensory field as a whole that was more captivating, but individual persistent impressions, special intense drives began to be recorded, violent reactions of protest, negativism, and acts of spite arose. The child strives to again receive that strong impression, fused with fear, which he experienced during the adult’s vivid reaction. The child’s experience in this case is already of a detailed nature and has some plot, so children with a similar developmental option usually develop quite complex speech early on. Its development is used to play out such stereotypical plots. Such a child is very “verbal” - monotonous fantasies replace not only real life, but also real play actions. Speech is also actively used to develop other forms of his autostimulation: he teases, provokes a negative reaction from loved ones, uttering “bad” words, acting out socially unacceptable situations for them in speech. The child is characterized by accelerated intellectual development, he develops “adult” interests - in encyclopedias, diagrams, and counting operations.
Fourth option. In children with this variant of autism, the features of early affective development are minimally expressed. Slight delay in motor and speech development, decreased tone, slight inhibition. Such children early identify their mother and, in general, the circle of people close to them. Fear of strangers appears in a timely manner, and it can be very pronounced. A typical reaction of fear is to an inadequate or simply unusual expression on the face of an adult, or to the unexpected behavior of a peer. Such a child is usually affectionate and affectionate in emotional contacts with family. There is a very strong attachment to his mother, similar to an emotional symbiosis: he needs not only her presence, but also constant emotional toning on her part. From an early age, the child demonstrates extreme dependence on support and approval from parents. However, despite such overdependence, even in the first year of his life he refuses parental interference in his studies; it is difficult to teach him anything; he prefers to figure everything out on his own. In the second or third year, parents begin to worry about the child’s slowness, extreme uncertainty, delay in speech development, difficulties in mastering motor skills, and lack of tendency to voluntary imitation. Although at the same time, such a child involuntarily adopts his mother’s intonation, often uses echolalia in his speech and uses the feminine gender for quite a long time in relation to himself (as his mother says). Attempts to actively involve such a child in purposeful interaction lead to rapid exhaustion and cause negativism. At the same time, he himself can engage in some of his own manipulations and monotonous games for a very long time. The moment of the beginning of independent walking may be quite delayed in such children, with particular inhibition in the event of failures - the first falls. But when such a child already begins to walk on his own, he does not let his mother go, holding her hand tightly. The normal crisis of the first year, with the difficulties described above, appears here in its most pronounced, perhaps even pathologically exaggerated form. Both the child and the mother feel especially lost. The stress they experience usually entails a pronounced delay in motor, speech and intellectual development, and often manifests itself at the somatic level, as a chronic asthenic condition of the child.
Topic5. Therapy and education for children with autism
The possibilities of socialization of persons with autism are determined by many factors, the main ones being: the severity and depth of autistic disorders; early diagnosis; possible earlier start of specialized correction, its complex medical-psychological-pedagogical nature; an adequate and flexible approach to the choice of methods of correctional work, its sequence, duration, sufficient volume; unity of efforts of specialists and families. Operant learning(behavioral therapy) is quite widespread in the United States and some other countries. The method involves the creation of external conditions that shape the desired behavior in a variety of aspects: social and everyday development, speech, mastery of academic subjects and production skills. Training is carried out mainly individually. TEASSN-program began to be developed by E. Schopler, R. Reichler and G. Mesibov in the early 70s. at the University of North Carolina and now in this and some other states it is state-owned; it is widespread in many countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa. A thorough study of the characteristics of the psyche of autistic children has led many foreign authors to the conclusion that in autism, thinking, perception and the psyche as a whole are organized completely differently than in the norm: perception is mainly simultaneous in nature, children do not learn or learn with great difficulty successively organized processes, they have a special way of thinking. According to supporters of the TEACH program, efforts should be directed not at adapting the child to the world, but at creating living conditions appropriate to his characteristics. Efforts are directed toward the development of nonverbal forms of communication and the formation of simple everyday skills. Speech training is considered appropriate only with an IQ> 50% and is not regarded as mandatory, just like the development of educational and professional skills. Specific techniques are based on a clear structuring of space and time (through various shapes schedules), reliance on visualization. The TEACH program almost never provides a sufficiently high level of adaptation to real life, but it allows you to quite quickly achieve positive, sustainable changes in work even with very severe cases of autism. The goal of achieving the opportunity to live “independently and independently” is achieved, but only in special, limited or artificially created conditions. Development and life at home are considered organizationally ideal, since the family is the “natural environment of existence” for an autistic child. Holding therapy (M. Welsh), “daily life” therapy (K. Kitahara), “optimal conditions” therapy (B. and S. Kaufman), etc. Among the domestic approaches to the correction of autism, the most famous is the proposed method of complex medical psychological and pedagogical correction, based on the idea of autism primarily as an affective disorder. In contrast to foreign methods, great importance is given to complexity - the constant interaction of teachers, psychologists and psychiatrists. The main efforts are aimed at correcting the emotional sphere, at emotionally toning the child. The method is quite effective when working with relatively mild forms of RDA. Since the second half of the 70s. Thanks to the work of Leningrad, etc.) and especially Moscow (and others) psychiatrists and psychologists, the idea of RdA as a special deviation gradually began to emerge mental development, from which followed the need not only and not so much drug treatment, how much correctional training and education using special forms and methods specific to RDA. With potentially intact intelligence and even certain abilities, teaching autistic children in a mainstream school requires special psychological and pedagogical support. This option for teaching autistic children is not only possible, but also necessary, but its implementation requires a number of conditions: advanced readiness of the child for schooling in terms of academic skills; a certain level of social adaptation, the ability to live in a team; psychological and pedagogical support for specialists in the correction of RDA; sufficient defectological preparedness of a mass school teacher; legal protection of an autistic child studying in a mainstream (or other) school, i.e., taking into account the characteristics of such a child should be the responsibility of the teacher and administration.
Topic 5. Organization of correctional assistance for a young child with early childhood autism: joint work of specialists and parents
Childhood autism syndrome is finally formed by the age of 2.5–3 years; trends in autistic development can be identified quite early, often almost from the birth of the child. It is noted that these children, already at an early age, are characterized by a special reaction to sensory stimuli (E. Ornitz, 1978,1985,1991,2001). increased sensitivity to sensory stimuli, a special preoccupation with individual impressions - tactile, visual, auditory, vestibular, which they strive to stereotypically reproduce again and again, while an adult practically fails to intervene in their actions.
Quite early in children with autism, a violation of the development of emotional interaction with loved ones is detected: the child avoids or does not look into the eyes, does not ask to be held, his smile may not be addressed much to a loved one and more often arises in connection with other pleasant impressions for the child, does not appear pointing gesture, the child’s speech development is delayed and distorted: humming and babbling develop out of connection with communication, and the baby does not begin to imitate an adult, repeat syllables and words after him, and the first calls do not appear.
Underdevelopment of means of communication and coordination of attention prevents an adult from organizing a child and does not allow him to cope with tendencies in field behavior. During this period, even the few established communication skills are often lost; the child stops responding to his name, fulfilling the simplest requests, loses his sense of edge and is often suspected of deafness and even blindness.
At early start correctional work can successfully resist even the most pronounced trends in the formation of the most profound forms of autism, described (2001).
Primary contact with the child should be established on the basis of pleasant impressions and available forms of activity; correctional tasks are set in accordance with the diagnosed zone of proximal development in the formation of the affective sphere as a system of affective organization of the child’s behavior and consciousness. The goal of correctional work is to help develop the system of affective organization of consciousness and behavior, an integral system of meanings that determines the child’s relationship with the outside world and with other people.
At the first stage of work, the main task is to establish contact in order to achieve the opportunity to emotionally tone the child. Contact with children could be built on the basis* of impressions that were significant for them, which they themselves received in the process of field movement, arranging and contemplating a visual array, and the simplest sorting of objects. Establishing and maintaining contact is reinforced by careful intensification and emotional accentuation of these pleasant impressions for the child.
The second stage of work is aimed at the formation of a stable spatio-temporal stereotype of the activity. Such a stereotype makes it possible to record and consistently reproduce established episodes of game interaction, which allows them to be gradually more differentiated and comprehended. The condition for the formation of such a stereotype was the construction by the specialist of a certain spatio-temporal order of occupation.
The third stage is the development of a semantic stereotype of the activity. The emergence of active selectivity and the development of a positively colored individual picture of the world allows children to become more adapted and prosperous in their usual, especially at home, living conditions. This, in turn, opens up the possibility for children to have a more complex emotional understanding of what is happening. As they comprehend this, they become more focused on people, interest in other children, and contact with loved ones becomes emotionally charged.
The fourth stage is associated with the development story game, in which the activity of the child himself is increasingly emphasized, socially adequate ways of his self-affirmation are formed. Ordering and understanding by children of everyday experience, their adaptation to familiar conditions opens the way, on the one hand, to the development of emotional connections, on the other, to the emergence of the possibility of more active and independent exploration of the environment, the ability to adapt to situations of disruption of everyday life, uncertainty, and unpredictability.
Topic 6. Characteristics of speech development in children with early childhood autism
In the process of correctional work, in all cases, tendencies to distort speech development are overcome, speech becomes a means of communication and understanding of the environment. During correctional work, all children’s vocalizations not only become more active and varied, but are also included in communication. When stable simplest forms of contact arise, all children first begin to plastically repeat after the adult, and then themselves pronounce individual words included in the ritual of the simplest emotional games. Emotional toning within the framework of the formed spatio-temporal stereotype of an activity allows you to selectively activate the child’s repetition of words and record the independent naming of familiar objects and actions. Increasing the number of game plot episodes and developing the semantic stereotype of the activity allows the child to assimilate the adult’s commentary and begin to pronounce what is happening himself. As a coherent plot is formed, all children’s verbal involvement in what is happening increases, their comments become more detailed, phrasal, and begin to actively anticipate the development of the game. Speech development is especially activated when children develop a desire for forbidden topics: they strive to pronounce them, and speech becomes more developed.
Topic 7. The relationship between intellectual and speech development when teaching children with RDA.
By the beginning of work, all children can group objects according to formally defined characteristics: color, shape, size, so they try to organize pleasant impressions for them. The method of organization is the most primitive - they line up rows and collect “collections” of homogeneous objects. Therefore, an important task of correction is to return to more normal early bases of selectivity - to ordinary sensory pleasures, familiar everyday situations, things associated with them, to toys. Another important task is to form in the child the ability to meaningfully and consistently group impressions, based not on the formal characteristics of objects, but on situational everyday experience, on understanding the emotional meaning of what is happening. It is this path to subsequent normal symbolization that autistic children usually do not undergo, and they are suspected of lacking this ability due to difficulties in developing symbolic play and transferring skills from one situation to another.
In the process of correction, all children begin to accept the situational meaning given by adults to the row they are building or the collection they have collected. Gradually, children begin to combine characters and necessary objects in accordance with the meaning of the everyday situation being played out.
Topic 8. Development of the sensory sphere and speech in children with RDA
Sensory play as an opportunity to establish contact with an autistic child. In order to establish contact with an autistic child, without which it is impossible to carry out corrective measures, we suggest conducting sensory games with him. We conventionally call sensory games, the main goal of which is to give the child new sensory sensations. Sensations can be very different: visual, auditory, tactile and motor, olfactory and gustatory. The advisability of conducting such games with an autistic child is based on the position that the sensory component of the world acquires special significance for such a child. Therefore, carrying out sensory games is a kind of “seduction” of a child. And if it is possible to connect the pleasant experience that an autistic child experiences when receiving a new sensory sensation with the image of a specific person, the child gains trust in the adult who plays with him and begins to see him as an ally. In this case, we can talk about establishing emotional contact. Types of sensory play
1. Games with paints.
2. Games with water.
3. Soap bubbles.
4. Games with candles
5. Games with light and shadows.
6. Games with ice.
7. Games with cereals.
8. Games with plastic materials (plasticine, dough, clay).
9. Games with sounds.
10. Games with movements and tactile sensations.
Topic 9. Examination of the speech of children with RDA
Methods for analyzing literary data. Pedagogical methods (open, hidden, continuous, discrete, delayed observation).
Sociological methods - questionnaire, interaction analysis, self-assessment method.
Experimental methods - natural and laboratory experiment.
Maintaining documentation of PMPK - types, structure of protocols and determination of conclusions, determination of an individual educational route (determination of the form of education - medicine, early help, short-term groups, groups with a 12-hour stay, group with healthy peers), determination of indications and contraindications for inclusive education,
Work on the formation of speech skills begins with assessing the level of current speech development of a given child. Due to the fact that in our country there are no standardized methods for examining speech development, it is possible to use so-called “speech cards” (speech therapy examination schemes). Examination of speech understanding, as well as its communicative use, deserves more attention. 1. Examination of speech understanding (impressive speech). First of all, the child’s understanding of speech is examined in a spontaneous situation. They study whether the child understands statements that contain words that are affectively significant for him. Two points are important: 1) the proposed objects (activities) must be available; 2) tests for understanding such words should be carried out several times during the examination - at least 3-5 (not in a row) - to obtain reliable result. Does the child follow verbal instructions: a) in the context of what is happening; b) outside the context of what is happening. Instructions must be presented in different contexts and situations. A directed examination of speech understanding includes tasks on: understanding the names of objects;
understanding the names of actions; understanding the names of the qualities of objects, concepts expressing spatial relationships, etc.).
2. Examination of one’s own speech (expressive speech). During observation of the child’s spontaneous behavior, various vocalizations and extralaryngeal sound productions (those produced without the participation of the vocal cords) of the child are recorded. It is important to pay attention to the presence of spontaneous imitation of various sounds, words and statements; echolalia (immediate and delayed) is also recorded. When observing, they look at how the child expresses his demands or refusal of something. Even if the child does not use speech (vocalizations, words, etc.) to express desire or protest, existing forms of communication can become the foundation for the formation of simple speech skills or their prerequisites. A targeted examination of expressive speech is carried out: the ability to verbally imitate, the development of skills such as naming objects, actions, etc. are studied. Further examination is carried out according to the standard scheme of speech therapy examination: the pronunciation aspect of speech is examined in detail (intonation, volume, quality of pronunciation of sounds, etc. .), grammatical structure of speech, lexical composition, dialogue skills
Topic 10. First stage teaching speech understanding to children with RDA
The survey results are studied and used to build individual programs for the development of speech skills. Training begins with the skills that are easiest for him - the degree of difficulty is determined individually. Necessary prerequisites for starting training are the partial formation of “learning behavior” and the implementation of simple instructions. All words that the child has learned to understand in a somewhat artificial educational situation must be used in the context of the child’s daily life. The process of transferring (or generalizing) a skill must be thought out as carefully as the learning process. The next stage of training is the formation of skills related to understanding the names of actions. It should be noted that learning these skills can occur simultaneously with learning to understand the names of objects. At the same time, for children with profound comprehension difficulties, a sequential learning strategy is better suited.
The skill of understanding the names of actions is used in further correctional work when teaching expressive speech.
Topic 11. Initial stage of teaching expressive speech.
After the initial skills of understanding speech are formed, expressive speech training begins. The formation of expressive speech skills in behavioral therapy begins with teaching the skill of imitation of sounds and articulatory movements.
The skill of imitating movements is one of the first in learning, and by the time learning speech skills begins, the child should already be able to repeat simple movements after an adult in response to the instructions “Do this” or “Repeat after me.” Sounds and articulatory movements should be selected individually; it is preferable to use those that occur in the child’s spontaneous behavior. Examples of articulatory movements: open the mouth, show the tongue, puff out the cheeks, blow, etc. Learning to repeat sounds usually begins with vowels, however, if the child’s vocalizations are more complex, then they can be used. The main task is to establish control over imitation, which is achieved through the correct use of reinforcement. If the child does not repeat the sounds, it is better to return to the stage of imitation of movements, and then try again to induce onomatopoeia.
If a child has learned to imitate at least a few sounds, they try to expand their repertoire so that in the future these sounds can have a functional meaning. First repeat the simplest sounds, then their more complex combinations. If there are disturbances in the structure of the speech apparatus (some of them are secondary - due to many years of silence), articulatory gymnastics is useful, allowing you to work on the mobility of the tongue, speech breathing, development of voluntary control over the position of the articulatory apparatus, etc. The first words are subsequently formed from the practiced sounds.
Because many children have severe communication problems, they do not make their own attempts to speak. In such cases, it is better to start learning to pronounce words from a learning situation that is more familiar and neutral for the child. The complexity of the naming skill lies in the fact that before the child names an object, the adult asks him the question “What is this?” (or "Who is this?"). Due to the fact that children were taught to repeat sounds and their combinations, and also due to the presence of echolalia in the behavioral repertoire of many autistic people, children often try to repeat a question after an adult. The training proceeds as follows: an adult asks the question “What is this?”, then shows an object (for example, a toy house) and quickly, without waiting for the child to start repeating the question, says: “House.” In order for a child to be able to use the speech resources available to him for communication, it is necessary to teach him to express his desires using sounds and words.
Currently, there is an urgent problem in domestic correctional pedagogy - the creation of a comprehensive system of psychological and pedagogical support for children with autism. At the State Budgetary Educational Institution GPPC DogM, many specialists are involved in the development, correction and adaptation of children with ASD: psychologists, defectologists, speech therapists, and additional education teachers.
Great success has been achieved in the development and implementation of programs that allow children with this mental development feature to adapt to society, attend kindergartens or schools, and participate in joint activities. (collective) activities, get an education and ultimately be maximally adapted to life in society.
Of great importance for inclusion in the adaptation of such a child is the development of the ability to communicate and the formation of speech at the highest possible level.
Autistic children have a wide range of speech disorders, and very often it is the speech therapist who is the person who must conduct an initial diagnosis of the development of an autistic child and coordinate the family for further action.
For children with autism spectrum disorders, the main symptoms of delays and distortions in speech development vary depending on the autism group. There are 4 groups of speech development:
Thus, in children of the first group we observe an almost complete absence of external speech. Rare words or short phrases uttered by a child at the height of passion suggest that he understands speech at least partially.
The speech of children in the second group is characterized by echolalia; there is also a small set of stereotypical short phrases, either received by the child in some affective situation. Children of the second group have stereotypical requests and appeals in which the verb is used in the infinitive ("Drink juice" , "Give cookies" ) , and the child speaks about himself in the second or third person (“Sasha will draw” ) . But often such children prefer to address and ask in an unusual way, shouting or simply trying to lead an adult to the right place and poke his hand into the object of interest to them.
Children of the third group have extensive literary speech, but are almost incapable of dialogue; they do not hear their interlocutor, although they quote entire pages of their favorite books or discuss their favorite topic.
In a child of the fourth group, we encounter quiet, unclear speech and echolalia, sometimes delayed in time. Such a child asks and addresses, as a rule, with the help of speech, but retelling is difficult for him.
First of all, in a spontaneous situation, the state of impressive speech is examined. The child's understanding of statements that contain words that are affectively significant to him is studied. By observation or from a conversation with parents, they find out what the child loves, what is most significant for him. Then, in the absence of a meaningful object or action, a statement containing a meaningful word is uttered in the child’s field of vision. (For example “Shall we go horse riding?” , “Do you want a Kinder surprise?” and so on.)
If the child's behavior changes in a visible way - for example, he turns his head towards the speaker or approaches him, we can assume that he has at least partially understood the statement. A directed examination of speech understanding includes tasks for understanding the names of objects, actions, qualities of objects, concepts expressing spatial relationships.
Your own speech is examined simultaneously with your understanding. Attention is drawn to the presence of spontaneous imitation of various sounds and words; expression of demands or refusals; echolalia is recorded; The child’s own spontaneous statements are noted. The child’s involuntary reactions indicate that he is able to understand speech and what is happening around him if it comes into the zone of his involuntary attention. (Nikolskaya O. S. Autistic child. Ways of help / Nikolskaya O. S., Baenskaya E. R., Liebling
On the basis of the canistherapy department of the State Budgetary Educational Institution GPPC DogM, for the second year, research has been carried out on the development of integrative speech therapy classes using the canistherapy method based on applied behavioral analysis for children with autism. Such classes are conducted by two specialists: a speech therapist and a canitherapist psychologist with a specially trained, certified dog.
Considering the characteristics of children with autism spectrum disorders, the child’s initial contact with a speech therapist, as well as other children, can be traumatic due to hypersensitivity to the information conveyed by the human face and speech. Even the use of toys representing people is often not accepted by such children.
By introducing such a means of work as a specially trained dog, we create the possibility of indirect contact between a specialist and an autistic child, where the animal acts as an intermediary. The image of a dog, while not being a super-stimulant for a child, contact with a dog does not include affective reactions, but, on the contrary, causes increased interest and expressed motivation for interaction. Communication with the inclusion of an animal allows you to form subject-subject relationships, establish communication, inform educational activities holding the child’s attention due to a bright, non-frequency stimulus, which is a dog. All interactions between a child and a dog are carried out in accordance with the specialist’s basic program (speech therapist), where the speech therapist is the leading specialist who declares the working topic of the lesson, and the canine therapist engages the dog in order to achieve the results stated in the lesson plan.
Selecting exercises and tasks, adjusting the complexity, dynamics, and pace of mastering the program, even in small groups, must be based on a pre-built individually oriented route for each child. It is necessary to combine children into small groups after carefully studying the recommendations of the PMPC. In our experience, we rely on the ability to provide speech therapy assistance individually for the required time for each child, and only after establishing stable contact with the child and boosting his high motivation to attend classes, we transfer children to small groups consisting of two or three children with similar nosology. Since the group of autism spectrum disorders includes very different children, with different levels development, different prospects and different reasons for existing violations.
Based on the above, we can state: speech therapy work with autistic children using the canistherapy method should be carried out in a certain way.
- Individual form of speech therapy work, as necessary adaptation period, with the development of a lasting positive reaction to attending classes. Creating motivation for contact with animals. These classes are conducted with the participation of parents, which makes it possible to obtain anamnestic information; in the process of developing play behavior, communication capabilities are diagnosed, a speech map is drawn up, and the child’s free behavior is observed.
- A dog under the guidance of a dog handler helps create an atmosphere that allows emotional connection with the child, while carrying out indirect interaction with specialists based on the child’s keen interest in the lesson process, initiating an incentive to complete tasks due to the desire to be in contact with all members of the educational alliance. The main rule at this stage is to reduce pressure and eliminate the directive position of interaction as much as possible, which allows you to provoke the child’s independent initiative.
- It is very important that in the room in which speech therapy work is carried out there are no objects that radically distract the child from the topics being studied. To do this, specialists need to think through the equipment of the classroom in advance before each lesson, in accordance with the calendar and thematic planning of the program used. In addition, it is necessary to remember about safety, since some autistic children are impulsive, restless and may have strong affective reactions, episodes of aggression and self-aggression.
- A program for the correction of speech disorders is developed jointly with all specialists working with the child. The inclusion and roles of the therapy dog are discussed in advance and correspond to the goals and objectives of the program used, and also take into account the individual characteristics and capabilities of the autistic child.
- Speech therapy work to correct speech development must be consistent, patient, and sometimes very long. You should not try to teach your child everything at once; it is better to first focus on one skill that is most accessible to him, gradually connecting him to the simplest operations in other, frequently repeated everyday situations. In each specific case the results will be different. Periods of progress can be followed by regression, just like in healthy children. In order to track the dynamics, you should record (write down) the slightest achievements. Firmness, persistence and exactingness are very important when working with autistic children. Of course, this is very troublesome, both for parents and for specialists, but it is important to remember: by getting the child to behave correctly and purposefully, we form an appropriate stereotype and it will be easier for him to interact, explore the world, and learn.
The directions of speech therapy correction for autism are structured as follows:
1. Development of speech understanding (emotional and semantic commentary, plot drawing). A speech therapist participating in the psychological and pedagogical support of a child with autism provides emotional and semantic commentary through the inclusion of a dog as an intermediary. Addressing the animal with a request and initiating active play interaction in order to interest the child in the process and include him in joint activities. This path allows you to environmentally ensure that the child is included in reality, aware of what is happening around him, understands speech and follows basic instructions. In this case, there is a persistent positive reaction to the classes, an expansion of the range of positive emotions, and motivation to engage in activities with specialists through interaction with the dog arises. At the same time, when forming activities, it is necessary to take into account that the emotional and semantic commentary must be tied to the child’s experience, bring meaning even to the child’s seemingly meaningless activity, to his autostimulation; focus on pleasant sensations for the child and smooth out unpleasant ones; clarify cause-and-effect relationships, give the child an idea of the structure of objects and the essence of phenomena. Such commentary helps convey the meaning of daily events, their dependence on each other and on human relationships, on social rules; gives an autistic child an idea of human emotions, feelings, relationships that he usually cannot understand or perceive directly. At the same time, taking into account the immediate, direct emotional messages of a dog, it is much easier to form ideas about human emotions in children with autism. Playing with an animal, using a dog as a character in the plot role playing games ah is very important for developing in an autistic child the ability to understand speech from commenting on details, sensations, situations to a plot story. In the process of reacting to received emotions, the child "together with the dog" sketches or indicates in color his impressions of the classes. This allows you to firmly consolidate the information received using psychological anchoring. By reviewing and supplementing, completing the plots, you can return and consolidate the material covered, expanding it by adding new information. Develop the ability to maintain attention, encourage voluntary activity, and emotional regulation of one’s own state. Relaxation exercises next to the dog have a good effect in reducing aggressive and auto-aggressive states. Sensory, tactile stimulation, a calm background of support allows the child to cope with his feelings, feel the safety and comfort of the environment, which makes it possible to continue classes and achieve good results, significantly reducing the manifestations of both aggressive and auto-aggressive impulses in a child with autism.
With autism, more than with any other disorder, there is a noticeable difference between what a child understands and what he can say. The most complex, time-consuming and least predictable in terms of pace and results is working with "non-speaking" children (first group or mixed case with signs of both the first and second groups). The main difficulty for a speech therapist lies in including such a child in interaction. When a dog is included in a play interaction, the child is actively involved in communication; game process and the need to communicate with an animal initiates and develops the ability to actively use speech (disinhibition of external speech occurs).
Speech disinhibition in such children occurs simultaneously in three directions:
1) Provoking involuntary imitation of an action,
facial expressions, intonation of an adult, working with the commands Give the ball, Apport, go, leave, come, as well as sit, stand, lie down and other commands.
2) Provoking the child to echolalia and involuntary verbal reactions. In active play interaction with a dog during play interaction with elements of role-playing games. With the help of poetic rhythms, with the help of rhyme and melody, we also stimulate the vocalizations and verbal reactions of an autistic child. When we read poems that are well known to him or sing songs, we leave a pause at the end of the line, provoking him to finish the right word (at the same time, we use the characteristic desire for such a child to complete an unfinished phrase). If the child does not do this, then we ourselves finish the word (you can sometimes do this in a whisper, or you can do it silently - just articulate it when the child is focused on your face). The rhythm of poems and songs is best reproduced by rhythmic movements. (swinging, tossing, it is better for the child to sit in his arms). When a child wants something from you, you should give him a short wording of the request. For example: if you really want to feed the dog, initiate a request "Give me some food" . Or a game “I want to walk the dog!” After the phrase, the child receives a leash and the opportunity to independently walk around the office with the animal on a leash. In the absence of verbal contact, you should only accompany his silent request with the right word.
3) Repeating after the child and acting out his sound reactions, including vocal autostimulation and the active involvement of the dog in response to each sound reaction, attracting and maintaining the child’s attention is another important area of work to disinhibit the speech of a non-speaking autistic child. Professionals working with the child pick up his vocalizations, repeat them with his intonation, and then act out and turn them into real words, connecting them to the situation of playing with the animal and maintaining motivation for any positive interaction between the child and the animal. Particular difficulties in working to disinhibit speech arise with children who initially have a lot of vocal autostimulation. If the child constantly "babbles" or sings "in your own language" , or hums, grinds his teeth, clicks his tongue, then it is difficult to carry out speech work, since the child’s mouth is constantly "busy" . Work on provoking imitation with such children is most often impossible. The only way out is the intensive work we described to play up their vocal autostimulation with intensive inclusion in short game interventions. In this type of work, the dog, under the guidance of a canister therapist, is an indispensable assistant to the speech therapist. Since, being a bright, low-frequency stimulus, it does not carry the negative charge that people cause, while the dog can imitate any necessary role, initiate communication and play interaction, occupying any interaction position that is necessary. The activity of the animal also depends on specific tasks and can be regulated by the canister therapist, increasing or decreasing activity in contact. Work with non-verbal children who have passed the age of 5 should begin with very intensive disinhibition classes. "external" speech. When a child reaches school age, we begin to teach him to read and write. At the same time, the technique of turning on the animal remains the same and changes depending on the goals set.
Work on developing dialogue capabilities in children of the third group is structured in a special way. The speech of such children is quite developed, they can talk for a very long time about what they have a special passion for. (most often – about something scary, unpleasant), can quote their favorite books for entire pages. But at the same time, their speech is a monologue; they need not an interlocutor, but a listener. A dog is ideal for the role of a listener, helping to survive a complex affective reaction: fear or surprise and developing a certain algorithm of stereotypical actions - as a way to overcome affect and gain access to comfortable experiences.
Features of the approach to teaching reading and writing skills. There are a number of techniques that help teachers develop basic learning skills in an autistic child.
So, when learning to read, you can first focus on good involuntary memory a child, that by playing with a magnetic alphabet or with cubes with letters written on the sides, he can quickly mechanically memorize the entire alphabet. It is enough for an adult to name letters from time to time, without requiring constant repetition from the child, without checking him, since everything that requires voluntary concentration slows down the child and can cause negativism in him.
Further, authors such as Nikolskaya O.S. suggest that teachers and parents do not teach their child letter-by-letter or syllable-by-syllable reading, but immediately turn to the methodology "global reading" , i.e. reading whole words. This technique seems more adequate for teaching autistic children than letter-by-letter or syllable-by-syllable reading. The fact is that, having learned to add letters or syllables, an autistic child can for a long time read "mechanically" , without delving into the meaning of what was read. At "global reading" we can avoid this danger because we label pictures or objects with whole words, and the word is always combined in the child’s visual field with the object that it denotes. In addition, teaching an autistic child to read whole words is easier and faster than letters and syllables, since, on the one hand, he has great difficulty perceiving fragmented information (coming in the form of letters, syllables, etc.), and, on the other hand, is able to instantly remember, "photograph" what is in his visual field. We include this technique in a role-playing game in which the dog plays the role of a fellow child, a partner. And she must perform the same tasks, while the specialist deliberately confuses the answers, encouraging the child to help his dog friend answer correctly. These activities are interesting for the child, allow them to maintain attention for a long time, and also cultivate such qualities as mutual assistance, the ability to come to the aid of others, and a careful, caring attitude. These qualities are obviously deficient in autistic children, since it is almost impossible for such children to understand other people’s emotions without additional teaching.
Correction methods used in speech therapy work with autistic children:
- Applied behavior analysis. (“Speech development in autistic children within the framework of behavioral therapy” – article by S.S. Morozova, a psychologist from Moscow State University, who completed an internship in the USA in behavioral therapy (behavior modification, ABA).
- Methodology L.G. Nureyeva
- Method of global reading B.D. Korsunskaya
- Using elements of the methodology M. Montessori, S. Lupan
The study of the results obtained from the work of practicing teachers showed that special speech therapy, combined with the use of the canistherapy method, takes the correctional and educational process to a qualitatively different level, significantly increases the motivation of children to study, which in turn facilitates the assimilation of the necessary information, and has a positive effect on the quality specialist work.
Diagnostics carried out based on the results of the work show a significant improvement in the assimilation of the program, as well as the development in children of the desire and ability to interact in both verbal and non-verbal ways. I would like to note that this significantly reduces affective reactions, aggression and auto-aggression, increases the opportunity to improve the quality of contact and social interaction, which is also a significant component in any correction of autistic behavior, emotional and mental underdevelopment in children with early childhood autism.
List of used literature.
- Morozova S.S. Autism: correctional work for severe and complicated forms. - M.: Humanitarian. ed. VLADOS center, 2007.
- Morozova T.I. Characteristics and basic principles of correction of speech disorders in early childhood autism // Defectology. – 1990. - No. 5.
- Nikolskaya O.S. Autistic child. Ways of help / Nikolskaya O. S., Baenskaya E. R., Liebling M.M. - M.: Terevinf, 2005.
- Defectology. Dictionary-reference book: Textbook. / Ed. Puzanova B.P. - M.: Sfera, 2005.
- Nurieva L.G. Speech development in autistic children. - M.: Terevinf, 2006.
- Lebedinskaya K.S., Nikolskaya O.S. Diagnostic card. A study of a child in the first two years of life who is suspected of having early childhood autism.
- Lebedinskaya K.S., Nikolskaya O.S. Defectological problems of early childhood autism. Message I // Defectology. – 1987. - No. 2. – P. 10-16.
- Lebedinskaya K.S., Nikolskaya O.S. Defectological problems of early childhood autism. Message II // Defectology. – 1988. - No. 2. – P. 10-15
Accompanying an autistic child in the correctional process is a special type of interaction between a child and a teacher. During this interaction, the child must perform an action, and the teacher creates the conditions for the implementation and comprehension of this action.
At the same time, the individual support program is built taking into account the various types and forms of educational activities for this child.
In his short article, the author shares his experience of working together with a child who needed to learn the ability to listen and voluntarily follow the teacher’s instructions. Each autistic child has his own level of capabilities, the teacher must feel it and try to raise this level.
If this is successful, the child begins to talk a lot and actively participate in everyday life. This task is very difficult, however, the teacher, in the course of joint activities with the child, must try to solve it, at least partially.
Individualization of speech therapy assistance for a preschool child with autism spectrum disorder as part of correctional work
Accompanying an autistic child in the correctional process is a special type of interaction between a child and a teacher. In my rather long teaching career, this was not a typical case. Therefore, naturally, I became acquainted with the literature on this issue, some starting points from which I used in individual interaction with an autistic child - Gleb B., 5 years old.
When starting to work with Gleb (5 years old), I did not forget about the structure of his defect, in which leading place occupies a violation of the emotional-volitional sphere. “After all, even if Gleb may enjoy working with me, it will be very difficult for him to force himself to perform the required action!” – I always remembered.
In preparation for the training process, I first taught him to perform precise and short instructions: “Sit down!”, “Raise your head!”, “Look at me!”. With special care, I used the gesture of turning the boy’s head, while holding his chin with my hand, naturally, through a napkin. I so wanted him not to be afraid of me, so that he would trust me! She stroked his head after each task, saying: “You’re great! You’re doing everything right!”
It brought him joy, I saw a smile on his face. Gradually, the child’s tension and fear disappeared, and emotional contact was established. And I followed one more rule when interacting with Gleb - we always sat opposite each other, and not next to each other. I was able to establish visual contact with the child.
Speech development classes were conducted at a level accessible to the boy. The training was based on the Program educational institutions compensatory type for children with intellectual disabilities “Correctional and developmental training and education” E.A. Ekzhanova, E.A. Strebeleva, Moscow, “Enlightenment”, 2003.
At first, Gleb's speech was only echolalic. The main task was to teach him to listen to me, perform tasks randomly and answer questions posed. Arbitrariness developed very slowly. I had to constantly ask the same questions, perform standard tasks with him, do certain actions with his hands. She changed the types of activities in the lesson, but maintained the structure of the lesson itself. Help gradually decreased. At the same time, stimulation in the form of praise remained in every lesson. For this boy, the situation of success played an important role in his interaction with the teacher.
By teaching Gleb global reading, I developed speech understanding, visual perception, and memory. This learning became possible after the child began to correctly correlate an object with its image and select paired pictures. The first words denoted objects, actions, and phenomena known to him. The boy took part in this work with pleasure and made progress.
Gleb's vocabulary expanded as he became familiar with the lexical topics of the program. At the beginning of the training, the emphasis was on natural objects and toys; pictures and series of pictures were gradually introduced. A sharp jump in his speech occurred at the end of the first school year. Sentences that were previously one-word became detailed and syntactically correct. Gleb began to retell fairy tales and stories. A dialogue emerged both with kindergarten teachers and parents.
Work on speech development was carried out in parallel with work on general speech skills: breathing, intonation, tempo.
Work on correcting sound pronunciation has also become possible. At this stage, I considered it necessary to teach literacy in an analytical-synthetic way, and I was not mistaken. Gleb liked alphabet classes; he enjoyed composing syllables and simple words in the alphabet box. Gradually I mastered simple phonemic analysis. If difficulties arose when typing letters, the boy turned to me with the words: “Help me!” And we carried out this task together, “hand in hand.”
I believe that for Gleb and other children with RDA, the experience of individual interaction with a teacher is very important, during which they learn to listen and follow instructions, think, speak and read. For the teacher, this interaction helps to gain valuable experience in communicating with another, special child, and teaches patience, kindness and love.
I am sure that every autistic child has his own level of capabilities, the teacher should feel it and try to raise this level. Working with Gleb brought me the joy of creativity. Of course, it is complex, but if you solve it, even partially, it is important for the child himself, his family and, of course, the teacher.
Tikhonova Irina Vasilievna,
teacher speech therapist,
MADOU No. 49 “Combined kindergarten”
Kemerovo