If a child’s got  speech problems

Continuation. See beginning in issues 22, 23, 24 (2005) and 1, 2, 3 (2006) 

 In six previous publications  of " Family Council”  the director of RC  for biocybernetics Andrey  Bludov  told  us about some new facts and discoveries in the field of correction of speech disorders. In the letters many readers ask to recommend, what independent work they can perform  for overcoming of  stuttering, logoneurosis and dysarthria. So, the expert is asked to speak.  

IN THE BEGINNING let's recollect the main point of what we have already discussed. Let's begin with the problems, connected with stuttering. Their solution is based on the convincing statistics: the majority of patients of our research center are people who have a sighting left eye, and write with the right hand. This discordance between cerebral hemispheres creates conditions for occurrence of speech disorders, as it causes an additional tension of the motor speech centers. 

 It is very important to understand,   that speech spasms and instability of speech take place because of  supertension of the nerve speech centers. Fright  in the overwhelming majority of cases is not the reason, but  only a releasing mechanism. 

 And, certainly, it is necessary to remember  of  “the main myth” about  stuttering. It is wrong to think, that if  stuttering increases  at the occurrence of emotions during communication, it is necessary to treat “ the wrong psychology of communication”. Any natural and even  minimal emotions can cause the failure of  speech stability  because of chronic supertension of the speech center. Therefore all historically developed methods of speech correction  have the general core - direct or indirect inhibition  of activity of cerebral cortex: beginning with drug therapy and finishing by hypnotic treatment. Speech  therapy a little bit differs. There are also specific methods, influencing on the control centers of a hand, "related" to the speech centers  (the technique by Andronova -Arutyunyan) or the control centers of breath (technique by Strelnikova), and also nonspecific methods - long silence as the absolute inhibition or slowing down of speech rate  as relative inhibition. 

 The method,  developed in our center, is based on the absolutely another approach to the solution of the problem. Three  techniques are  the most important. The first one   is  CAF- technique, removing the breaks and the other  instabilities  of speech on-line, when we, actually, make prosthetic appliance of the speech circle between lips and ears, using a microphone, a computer and headphones. The second one  is  a technique of visualization of vocal ligaments work. The patient sees at  the monitor, how  his vocal ligaments work, and learns  to operate them, which allows to compensate speech spasms very quickly. And the third technique – is the elimination of special overtones in the voice timbre, which "are responsible" for spasms. All these techniques  are also  actual  for dysarthria.

  The   technique of correction is based on the very important observation, made by the scientists of our Center -  people with a deep voice haven’t got any speech spasms! At least, among those three thousand people, whom we met.  

Therefore the first task which I wish to offer  to  the readers is to learn  to lower slightly a voice  during speech, especially, if you feel approach of  a spasm. Remember, that before a spasm the voice  is  necessarily raised. The  voice lowering  will automatically cause  stretching and  relaxation of vocal ligaments and, as consequence, decrease in spastic readiness.  

Task  #2. At the correct voice pitch you should feel the change of its timbre - easy vibration in your breast. These chest overtones are the "antidote" for  spasms at low-frequency consonants, which, as we know, are formed over the vocal ligaments - in the field of a tongue and lips. 

 And, at last, the third thing. It is known, that the voice is a mirror of electroencephalogram and the "tense" voice influences the effective work of the brain, in particular the mobilization of operative and long-term memory. Avoid both excessive intoning (more than 38 Hz), which upsets the work of the "intellectual" brain beta-rhythm, and a monotonous voice, which activates the  “frequency of fear” - about 7 Hz. 

 It is especially important to learn to observe this three simple rules in critical situations: during public performances, at examinations, in emotionally significant situations, so that the voice doesn’t raise to  a falsetto with all the ensuing consequences.  

To help our readers to move from “a dead stop” we suggest to take advantage of the free-of-charge medical program, which can be loaded from our site http://rcbkb.com/.  

Continuation of the topic and the story about interesting cases from practice of treatment of speech disorders  - in the following publication of the newspaper.

Peter SINKOVSKY