Do you know what common among such famous people,As Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, Napoleon, Bruce Willis? The fact is that they all stammered as a child. However, having made efforts, they were able to overcome speech problems and achieve great success. Stammering in children usually appears at the age of three to five years, when speech develops at the most active rates, but this function is not yet developed enough. In boys, the disorder occurs more often (three to four times) than the girls. This can be explained by their less emotional stability. How to treat stammering in children? What are the causes of this ailment? How can parents help a child get rid of a speech problem? Read about this in the article.
Stammering is a violation of tempo, rhythm, smoothnessbreathing, speech and voice, caused by cramps of the muscles of the tongue, larynx or lips. It can occur suddenly, and then intensify. The speech notes forced stops, the repetition of individual sounds, syllables. Seizures can be tonic (ie, manifested in stretching sounds, long pauses, general stiffness, tension) and clonic when the child repeats individual syllables, sounds (often at the beginning of the word). There is also a combination of both kinds of seizures - a tone-clonic stammering. In pre-school children, the problem may not appear for a long time and arise only in a stressful situation. Let's talk in more detail about the etiology of the disorder.
Stuttering attacks usually increase duringillness, overwork, in case of school or family troubles. Even the weather and diet are able to influence the manifestation of speech disorders. For example, it is noticed that the excess in the children's menu of protein foods aggravates the problem. Quite often stammering in children is provoked by infections. Chronic diseases, as a rule, do not cause this ailment, but they can strengthen existing violations. For example, a child with adenoid growths has difficulty nasal breathing, and because of this, there are problems with speech.
People began to struggle with stammering for a long time.This affliction suffered the Greek orator Demosthenes. He read complex sounds at the noise of the waves, spoke, holding the pebbles in his mouth, and thus tried to overcome the problem. World fame Demosthenes confirms that he succeeded. In the 19th century, speech disorders began to be treated surgically: a man was partially removed by the muscles of the tongue. I must say that such a radical way was not helped by everyone. Stammering is not the disease that can be eliminated only with the help of a scalpel.
To date, there are so many optionsthe elimination of a defect, as well as theories explaining its origin. In the course are the traditional methods (medication, respiratory gymnastics, physiotherapy), and non-traditional (hypnosis, acupuncture), and authoring techniques.
Treatment of stuttering in the child together shouldto conduct a speech therapist, a pediatrician and a psychologist (psychotherapist). The pediatrician's task is to eliminate the accompanying pathologies, to strengthen the body, to prevent the catarrhal diseases, especially those that affect the vocal cords and ears, to cure chronic ailments or to bring them to the stage of prolonged remission. The kid should be prescribed physiotherapy procedures: swimming pool, massage, electrosleep.
The function of a psychologist (psychotherapist) is toto help the child cope with the problem by teaching him the right behavior in society. So, the doctor should teach the baby to feel comfortable in any situation, not to be afraid of communication with peers and adults, to help realize that he is no different from peers and is not incomplete. Usually, classes with children with stuttering are carried out together with parents - their presence helps children to cope with excitement.
The task of speech therapy is to free speechchild from stress, eliminate the incorrect pronunciation of sounds, syllables, teach a clear articulation and smooth, rhythmic, expressive speech. The baby first with a speech therapist performs the exercises, and then in oral stories and everyday conversations with others fixes the acquired skills. As the degree of speech independence increases, the complexity of tasks increases.
This traditional way of treating speechviolations makes it possible to make the child's voice more free and natural. Exercises train the diaphragm, increase the mobility of the vocal cords, which enables them to tightly contract during a conversation. Treatment can be supplemented by relaxation.
The course of therapy is selected depending on the degreedefect. During the procedure, the specialist exercises an effect on the points located on the face, legs, chest and back. The first results can be noticed after the first course, but here we must take into account the age of the child and the form of the disease. To restore the nervous regulation of speech, classes should be conducted systematically.
Often, stuttering in a child isby means of special computer programs that allow to synchronize the speech and auditory centers. The kid speaks the words into the microphone, while the program automatically delays his speech for a fraction of a second. As a result, the child with a delay hears his own voice and tries to adapt to it. Thus, speech acquires smoothness and continuity. With the help of the program, you can play various situations that arise during communication, for example, discontent, objection. Children say words to the microphone, and the computer evaluates how well they have coped with the task, and gives a hint about what needs to be improved.
In the complex of the general course, such therapy issubsidiary. Children in some cases are prescribed tranquilizers, anticonvulsant drugs, drugs that help neutralize the blocking effect of those substances that prevent nerve centers from functioning normally. Nootropic anziolytic medicines may also be used. If necessary, the treatment is supplemented by the reception of soothing tinctures and herbal decoctions, for example, decoction of the motherwort is used.
Initial stuttering (originated in the earlyage, when speech is just beginning to develop actively) can often be eliminated without a trace in a few months. The duration of treatment will depend on what lies at the heart of speech impairment: the neurotic component or the pathology of the nervous system. If there is neurosis, the defect can return in the event of any stressful situation, but, as a rule, it can be quickly eliminated after a course of therapy. With physiological disorders, the treatment process is longer, but also more consistent. In this case, the ailment does not have such an abrupt current, as in the case of neurosis, so the therapy is carried out slowly but surely, without failures. Duration of treatment can be up to two years.
The biggest problem is the entrenchedstuttering, that is, which is observed for more than two to three months. It is important to approach the therapy in a comprehensive way, to choose options, focusing on the personal characteristics of the baby. It will take a lot of work and patience for the child and the parents. Not all children receive treatment easily. In kindergartens and schools, workers should take into account the characteristics of children with stuttering. In advance, warn teachers or teachers about the problem of your child, say that it can not be adjusted during the answer. Also, these children should not check the ability to read for speed - this can exacerbate the situation. As already mentioned, eliminating a speech defect is often a long and complex process. Parents, doctors and educators should unite their efforts, only in this way it is possible to achieve a positive result!
