Applying the “Neurospeech Therapy” Approach to the Organization of an Adaptive-Preventive Environment for Children with Early Speech Delay

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to theoretically substantiate the adaptive-preventive environment of early support for children with speech delay based on the neurospeech therapy approach, neuro-psycho-linguistic-synergetic basis and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. The study is of a theoretical-analytical nature and is based on the analysis, systematization, comparison and theoretical modeling used to process sources, compare scientific approaches, determine the structural components of support and build the author's model. The results obtained showed that early support for children with delayed speech development should not be built around individual speech manifestations, but taking into account the individual profile of the child's functioning. It was determined that such a profile includes speech, sensory, motor, cognitive, regulatory and communicative characteristics that affect the child's activity in play, everyday life, interaction and educational situations. It was substantiated that an adaptive-preventive environment should combine early intervention, dynamic observation, family-centered support, interdisciplinary interaction, functional description of difficulties and personalized adaptations. It was shown that the neurospeech therapy approach specifies the mechanism of speech difficulties through the interrelation of neurological, psychological, linguistic, synergetic and environmental factors. The psychological component is associated with higher mental functions of various modalities, and the synergetic component is associated with the child's spontaneous adaptations to their own characteristics. The proposed model reflects the sequence of transition from the individual profile of the child to the selection of speech, sensory, visual, spatial, regime and communicative adaptations. Thus, the obtained data confirm the feasibility of using a neurospeech therapy approach for personalized design of the early support environment. The practical significance of the results lies in the possibility of their use by speech therapists, special educators, psychologists, educators of inclusive groups and support teams in preschool educational institutions for planning personalized early support for children with delayed speech development.