Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
56
9
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jsshrf
TYPE
Original Research
PAGE NO.
56-59
DOI
OPEN ACCESS
SUBMITED
13 March 2025
ACCEPTED
09 April 2025
PUBLISHED
11 May 2025
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue05 2025
COPYRIGHT
© 2025 Original content from this work may be used under the terms
of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License.
Specific Features of
Psychomotor and
Cognitive Development in
Children with Severe
Speech Disabilities at
Preschool Age
Dinaraxon Mardonova
Tashkent State Pedagogical University, PhD student of the Department of
Speech Therapy, Uzbekistan
Abstract:
The article describes the specific features of
the psychomotor and cognitive development of
preschool children with severe speech impairment, and
provides an analysis of changes in thinking, memory,
attention, and logical approaches in children with this
speech impairment from the scientific research of many
scientists.
Keywords:
Cognitive development, severe speech
impairment, memory, attention, logical approach, fine
motor skills, general motor skills, motor alalia, subtle
differential movements, visual gnosis.
Introduction:
Disturbances in the motor function of
children with severe speech impairment can manifest
themselves as problems in articulatory, fine and general
motor skills.
Studies conducted by G.V. Matsievskaya emphasize that
the locomotor function of children with motor alalia
develops later than in other children. Differentiating
between kinetic (efferent) motor alalia, the author
shows that certain disorders occur in the muscles of
articulatory and general motor skills during the
execution of tasks such as performing sequential
movements and transitions from one movement to
another. Apraxias, expressed in kinesthetic (afferent)
motor alalia, proceed without pronounced paralysis and
paresis. Difficulties in performing fine differential
movements, a long search for the desired articulatory
position, and unstable replacement of sounds are
observed. During the execution of movements, their
Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
57
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jsshrf
Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
inaccuracy and involuntary additional movements of
the lips, tongue, lower jaw and mimic muscles are
detected. Maintaining the desired position is
significantly more difficult.
Articulatory motor disorders are also noted in the
studies conducted by R.A. Belova-David. She draws
attention to the incomplete development of deep
proprioceptive
sensations,
problems
in
the
organization
and
differentiation
of
speech
movements. Movement disorders, in addition to
changes in the strength and volume of movement, are
also expressed in its unclear and inconsistent
implementation, which is noted as a pathology of
motor coordination and is associated with disorders in
the function of the vestibular apparatus and the
cerebellum [3].
V.M. Bekhterev concludes that there is a close
connection between the hand and speech. The
connection between finger motor skills and speech
function was also confirmed by a number of
researchers working at the Institute of Physiology of
Children and Adolescents of the Russian Federation
(A.V. Antakova-Fomina, Ye.I. Isenina, M.I. Koltsova). It
was found that in most children with severe speech
impairment, there is a lack of finger mobility,
insufficient differentiation and inconsistency of fine
motor skills. Since speech is part of general motor
skills, it is formed together with the functional system
that controls speech movements. The development of
speech and motor skills is interconnected, and these
processes are largely associated with the activity of the
frontal parts of the brain [8].
Examination of the psychomotor skills of children with
severe speech impairment of older preschool age using
the N.I. Ozeretsky tests showed that in this group of
children, performing most of the test tasks causes
certain difficulties. Inaccuracy and coarseness of
movements, difficulties in repeating the position of the
hands and fingers are detected. These problems are
especially pronounced in the performance of
sequential and voluntary movements. In this case, a
violation of the kinetic and kinesthetic organization of
the movement process is noted. The sequence of
movement elements is disrupted, its components are
omitted. There are cases of slowing down the pace of
movement, inability to switch from one movement to
another. V.P. Dudyev, N.S. Zhukova, E.M. Mastyukova,
E.F. Sobotovich, T.B. Filicheva, G.V. Chirkina and others
separately highlight similar features recorded in motor
memory.
Motor deficiencies negatively affect the development
of visual activity in children, and this condition is
expressed in problems with drawing simple lines,
depicting small details of the picture, and subsequently
causes difficulties in mastering the writing process.
Disturbances in the coordination of muscle movements
on both sides of the div may be associated primarily
with the lateralization of functions, that is, lagging
behind the period of separation of the leading
hemisphere of the brain.
Thus, specific manifestations of defects in general, fine
and articulatory motor skills of preschool children with
severe speech impairment (according to N.A. Bernstein)
are noted at all levels of the sphere of movement
organization. They arise as a result of functional
insufficiency and indicate the presence of weakly
expressed residual organic pathologies [4].
The mental development of children with severe speech
impairment is characterized by a disproportionate
course of cognitive and speech development and causes
the manifestation of a mental image with specific
features. At the same time, there is a number of data
indicating a mosaic expression of intellectual
disabilities.
In the process of psychological and pedagogical study of
children with severe speech defects, the relationship
between the structure of the speech defect and
primary, secondary, tertiary, etc. defects is determined.
The phenomena of secondary underdevelopment of
higher mental functions have been theoretically
discussed since the time of L.S. Vygotsky.
At the present stage of scientific development, various
specialists are engaged in the problems of mental
dysontogenesis:
psychiatrists,
defectologists,
psychologists.
In general, many authors (I.T. Vlasenko, T.V. Rozanova,
etc.) emphasize that cognitive and speech disorders are
simultaneously noted in children with severe speech
disorders. In this case, a close relationship is often found
between the degree of expressiveness of the speech
defect and cognitive activity.
The cognitive processes of non-speaking children
suffering from the speech defect of alalia were first
systematically analyzed by R.E. Levina. She noted that in
alalia, there is an underdevelopment of sensory
functions: impaired auditory and visual perception,
impaired pitch and rhythmic perception, instability of
attention, optical-spatial praxis, visual and auditory
memory, and thinking disorders, among others[9].
Visual perception in preschool children with severe
speech impairment lags behind in development and is
characterized by the inability to fully perceive the
holistic image of the object. L.S. Svetkova found that
children in this category differ from their normally
developing peers in the volume of visual perception and
Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
58
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jsshrf
Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
the stability of visual representations.
A.P. Voronova noted that in most cases, due to the
insufficient level of development of letter gnosis, most
children are not ready to master the writing process.
They have difficulty distinguishing the concepts of
“right” and “left”. They cannot distinguish individual
parameters of size (length, width, height, thickness). A
number of difficulties are identified in the process of
analytical perception: children cannot distinguish the
main components of the object, ignore small details,
and problems with orientation in their own div and
space are noted [5].
A decrease in the speed of perceptual operations of
the target-research activity is noted (Ye.M.
Mastyukova). Preschool children do not know how to
study objects, do not show any activity and use
practical methods for studying the properties of the
object for a long time.
In children with severe speech defects of preschool
age, a low level of development of the main signs of
attention is noted (Yu.F. Garkusha, O.N. Usanova, T.A.
Fotekova, etc.). A lack of attention stability, rapid
distraction, and limited ability to distribute attention
are detected. Children with attention deficit disorder
have difficulty putting objects back in their place after
they have been moved, do not notice small errors in
pictures, do not always distinguish objects or words by
their given symbols, etc.
Insufficient
goal-directedness
of
activity,
its
impulsiveness or stagnation are clearly visible. A
tendency to reproductive types of activity is
determined, all types of control, especially preliminary
control and current control, are not fully formed (Yu.F.
Garkusha, O.N. Usanova). In this case, children have
difficulty completing educational tasks, cannot fully
perceive verbal material presented without visual aids.
Memory disorders are expressed in a variety of ways
and are not always associated with organic brain
damage. According to the data provided by I.T.
Vlasenko, G.S. Gumennaya, L.S. Volkova, E.G.
Krutikova, L.M. Shipitsyna, semantic memory in
children is relatively preserved, but a decrease in
verbal memory, a decrease in the efficiency of
memorization are observed, and a rigid and fading type
of memorization prevails[6]. Significant changes in the
functional state of the left hemisphere cause these
disorders (E.M. Mastyukova). According to E.M.
Mastyukova, the pronounced manifestation of
memory disorders in children with severe speech
impairment
depends
on
the
severity
and
characteristics of the organic disorder. In addition, a
close relationship is established between verbal
memory and incomplete speech development. Short-
term memory deficits are analyzed by a number of
foreign authors (Kamhi; Kircher, Klatzky, Cannon). They
emphasize that problems such as overwork, neurotic
states, general asthenia resulting from various
infections can cause memory disorders. According to
scientists, children with severe speech impairments
have a reduced volume of visual and tactile memory,
such children do not fully perceive rhythm and have
difficulty remembering optical-spatial relationships.
It is noted that visual gnosis has its own characteristics
against the background of severe speech impairment. In
children with severe speech impairment, the process of
recognizing overlapping pictures becomes more
complicated. A decrease in the number of informative
signs leads to an increase in the number of errors.
Simultaneous, successive, and optical-spatial gnosis
deficiencies are noted in all examined children.
The volume of verbal memory in children with motor
alalia is much lower than visual memory. Preschool
children often forget complex instructions, omit some of
their elements, and confuse the sequence of tasks
given. Children relatively well remember vivid
emotional impressions at an involuntary level. The
dominance of mechanical visual-figurative memory is
noted.
In relatively weak children, such conditions as low recall
activity can be observed along with limited
opportunities for the development of cognitive activity.
The incomplete formation of verbal-logical thinking is
manifested as one of the various etiopathogenetic
disorders.
The state of thinking and its connection with the level of
speech development gives rise to a number of
contradictory opinions. According to the views based on
R.E. Levina and developed in the studies of a number of
scientists (I.T. Vlasenko, B.M. Grinshpun, S.N.
Shakhovskaya), secondary disorders of thinking occupy
a special place in the structure of intellectual
deficiencies noted in children suffering from severe
forms of severe speech deficiency.
A number of works conducted by child psychiatrists
(V.V. Kovalev, Ye.O. Kirichenko, Ye.M. Mastyukova, R.A.
Belova-David, etc.) and aimed at studying the
relationship between speech impairment and the
general mental development of the child serve as a basis
for confirming this assumption.
A number of authors (I.T. Vlasenko, G.V. Gurovets, L.R.
Davidovich, L.A. Zaytseva, V.A. Kovshikov, A.N. Kornev,
Ye.M. Mastyukova, Ye.F. Sobotovich, O.N. Usanova, T.B.
Filicheva, G.V. Chirkina, Yu.A. Elkonin, etc.) have
established that there are specific features in the
thinking of this category of preschool children. Children
who have a foundation that plays an important role in
Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
59
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jsshrf
Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
mastering thinking operations lag behind in the
development of verbal-logical thinking, they master
the operations of analysis and synthesis, comparison
and generalization with difficulty.
Specific features of spatial thinking are noted, children
spend more time than healthy peers during tests of
imaginary rotation of objects (Johnston & E. Weismer),
incomplete development of symbolic functions is
revealed when performing cross-modal tasks (Kamhi).
They have deficiencies in hierarchical planning
(Cromer), symbolic functions (Morehead), auditory
processing of information (Eisenson; Tallal & Piercy;
Frumkin & Rapin, etc.), difficulties in sequential
counting are identified and are expressed in such cases
as omission, repetition, and disruption of the order,
while the process of re-counting objects causes the
child to become even more confused, they lag behind
in mastering quantitative operations by 1 to 5 years
(Kamhi, Cannon).
E.F. Sobotovich, while analyzing the specific features
observed in children with severe speech impairment,
notes a decrease in the rate of formation of mental
processes from the norm. The author pays special
attention to such situations as the insufficiently
dynamic nature of thinking processes in children with
motor alalia, the slow pace of mastering certain
patterns, and insufficiently conscious thinking. He
believes that linguistic deficiencies play a major role in
the development of the above-mentioned thinking
disorders.
The cognitive development of children with severe
speech impairment has its own characteristics, which
is explained by the inextricable link between speech
and thinking. According to the teachings of L.S.
Vygotsky, speech and thinking processes are closely
related and mutually conditioned. Therefore, speech
impairment necessarily affects cognitive processes to a
certain extent [7].
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it can be said that the dynamics of
cognitive development in children with severe speech
impairments is closely related to the dynamics of
speech development. Therefore, in correctional
speech therapy, it is important to pay attention not
only to speech components, but also to the
development of cognitive processes. In particular, the
development of executive functions such as working
memory, phonological processing ability, attention
control, and cognitive flexibility also has a positive
effect on speech development.
REFERENCES
Arkhipova E.F. Logopedicheskaya work at an early age.
- M.: AST, 2018. - 224 p.
Wiesel T.G. Basic neuropsychology. - M.: AST, 2018. -
384 p.
Zhukova N.S., Mastyukova E.M., Filicheva T.B. Speech
therapy. Preodolenie obshchego nedorazvitiya rechi u
doshkolnikov. - Ekaterinburg: LITUR, 2014. - 320 p.
Koltsova M.M. Rebenok uchitsya govorit. Palchikovy
game training. - M.: U-Factory, 2015. - 224 p.
Levina R.E. Basic theory and practical speech therapy. -
M.: Alliance, 2005. - 368 p.
Semenovich A.V. Neuropsychological correction in
children's age. Method zameshchayushchego ontogeny.
- M.: Genesis, 2018. - 474 p.
Filicheva T.B., Tumanova T.V. Deti s obshchim
nedorazvitiem rechi. Education and training. - M.:
Gnome, 2016. - 232 p.
Khvattsev
M.E.
Speech
therapy:
Rabota
s
doshkolnikami. - M.: AST, 2016. - 272 p.
Shashkina
G.R.
Logopedicheskaya
rabota
s
doshkolnikami. - M.: Academia, 2014. - 256 p.
Shippgsidova A.V. Metody obsledovaniya rechi detey:
Posobie po diagnostike rechevyx narusheniy. - M.:
ARKTI, 2017. - 240 p.
