Description of the main and most effective approaches to speech development in nonverbal children with autism

Quite often, children with autism do not speak at all, or their speech develops with a great delay. Sometimes it is due to medical problems such as tongue dysfunction or apraxia. However, much more often it is due to impairments in the areas of motivation and social interaction. Delays in speech development can also be caused by advanced ear infections, which can lead to hearing loss and impede critical speech development.

The term "nonverbal" refers to a person who does not use the voice to communicate (the clinical term is "nonvocal" because verbal behavior can involve communication without sounds, such as sign language). In most cases, these children use ineffective or inappropriate methods of communication instead of language. Most of the guys I worked with were nonverbal when we met. Typically, these children communicated by pointing, leading me to the right place, or (most often) expressing their needs through behavior. In my practice, I have observed several kids who, without saying a word, could get whatever they wanted. Parents understood that two screams meant “turn on the TV,” crying meant “take me in your arms,” and pushing away a brother or sister meant “I don’t want to play,” etc.

When working with nonverbal children, your goal is not to get the child to talk. The main task is to teach the child effective communications. Even verbal children are not always capable of communication. If I teach a five-year-old child to name colors and body parts, but he is unable to tell me what he wants to eat, then this is an example of a child who can talk but does not use speech to communicate.

It is important to realize that “non-verbal” is not just someone who cannot speak. How does the child communicate? Do you get the impression that he understands much more by ear than he can say? Does the child hum to himself, name parts of words, sing songs or melodies? Does your child scream when upset or make silent noises? From my experience, if a nonverbal child has vocal stereotypies or echolalia (repeating other people's words and phrases), this increases the likelihood that he will become verbal. A child who echoes words, sings, or babbles is more likely to be able to speak.

Working with behavior plays a huge role in the development of communication. This has to be repeated again and again: children who are nonverbal or unable to communicate are characterized by the most problematic and difficult to correct behaviors. Why is this so? Try to imagine that you find yourself in a society where no one speaks your language. If you speak English, then everyone around you speaks French. If you speak Arabic, then everyone around you speaks German. Now imagine that you are hungry and you need to somehow convince these people to feed you. And how long can you point and gesture before you start pushing people and throwing things?

If a child lacks innate motivation for social interaction, and the people around him do not additionally motivate him for this, then it will be much easier for him to get his way through undesirable behavior. A child who is allowed to throw his plate on the floor at the end of dinner, which means “I’ve eaten,” has no reason to think about how to express it in words, how to pronounce it and communicate it to others.

Encouragement for communication plays a huge role. As your child with autism learns to interact with others, you should always have the rewards he or she desires on hand. You may be thinking, “Why should I reward my child for speaking? After all, my older children just started talking and didn’t get M&M’s for it.” A key feature of autism is qualitative impairments in communication. This may mean that the child does not speak at all, has speech delays, or knows the language but has no motivation to use it.

There are several approaches to teaching nonverbal children to communicate (and behavior analysts/consultants often advise using several methods at once):

Communication teaching methods

Verbal Behavioral Approach (ABA) There are many subfields in the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA), and the verbal behavioral approach is one of them. This method focuses on the development of functional speech. The starting point in this approach is the child's internal motivation, which receives rewards to reinforce various types of communication (requests, naming, etc.). In this approach, language is taught in the same way as any other behavior, and each component of speech is broken down into small steps. For example, if a child really likes ice cream, then the first thing he is taught is to say the word “ice cream.” Thus, the child’s desire to get what he wants is used to stimulate his speech. You say “ice cream” and you get ice cream. The verbal behavioral approach also uses repeated repetition, prompting, and gradual development of the desired response. If a child is taught to ask for a ball, then “ma” is first accepted as a request. Over time, with careful data collection and analysis, the criteria become more stringent until the child can clearly say “ball.”

Speech therapy. Of the ten clients I work with, 6-7 usually also see a speech therapist. Many parents believe that speech therapy is the only way to help a nonverbal child speak. Speech therapists work with problems such as stuttering, articulation disorders, difficulties eating/swallowing, and the like. I know children who have made great progress with the help of speech therapy, and I have worked with others who have had no impact from the services. They received speech therapy for years, and began to speak after several months of ABA therapy. As a client, it is important for you to find a speech therapist who has knowledge and experience specifically in the field of autism or behavior therapy. It is also important to pay attention to the intensity of the activity. Many of the children I work with only receive speech therapy for an hour and a half a week. For a nonverbal, low-functioning autistic child, such therapy is not enough to produce any meaningful changes.

Sign language. When you name surrounding objects, always accompany them with a gesture, so that when the child hears the word, he simultaneously learns the corresponding gesture. When considering sign language as a type of communication, you should always take into account the child’s age and fine motor skills. If a child has problems with fine motor skills and cannot perform a sequence of complex gestures, then sign language is not the best option. Age is important because you need to consider the child's social circle. If he is two years old and spends all day with his mom and dad, then sign language is probably fine. And if a child is 11 years old, he goes to school, an after-school group, and then to a karate section, then all the people with whom he communicates must understand his gestures. If a child approaches a teacher on the school playground and asks for a “red notebook” using gestures, will the teacher understand this? When children do not receive a quick response to their gestures, they may simply stop using them. Another common mistake when teaching a child sign language is getting stuck on the “more” sign. Many specialists and parents teach the child the “more” gesture, and, unfortunately, he transfers this gesture to all situations. The child begins to approach everyone and repeat the “more” gesture when those around him have no idea what he wants. "What more? Now imagine how upset a child is when he is not understood. If you decide to teach your child the “more” gesture, then be sure to teach him to use the gesture only in conjunction with the name of what he wants.

Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). With the help of the PECS system, the child learns to exchange photographs of the objects he needs for the objects themselves. PECS images are easy to use, easy to take with you, and can detail everything in your child's environment. With the help of PECS, you can teach your child to formulate a request in a whole sentence, ask for several things at once, tell how your day went, just talk, etc. The advantage of PECS over gestures is that pictures or photographs can be understood by anyone. If a child shows a gesture inaccurately, then no one will understand what he wants. With PECS, you can use pictures or actual photographs of items, whichever is best for your child. Another advantage of PECS compared to gestures is that this system is suitable for communicating with peers. The average three-year-old may not understand the gesture "play," but he will definitely understand that a card with a picture of a doll's house means "Do you want to play with the doll's house?" Disadvantages of this system that parents have reported to me include the difficulty of constantly adding different photos/pictures, and if the child's interests change quickly, having to change cards quickly.

Assistive communication devices. Using an assistive communication device will allow the child to produce speech using a voice synthesizer. The child inserts pictures, types or presses buttons, and the device reproduces the corresponding words using an artificial voice. Since this is a technological device, it is necessary that the child has sufficient intellectual ability to use it independently of adults. However, if you have an iPad, there are excellent communication apps (such as Proloquo 2 Go) that can help nonverbal children communicate with just a few finger movements. The advantage of such technologies is that they are suitable for people with different physical abilities, as they can be modified and adapted for children who have difficulty seeing, cannot type or have difficulty hearing. These apps and devices are easy to take with you and allow your child to quickly communicate what they want, think, feel, and need. Some devices can be programmed as needed, filled with specific information for which a photograph cannot be selected (for example, a long joke about “knock-knock”). Other devices are more limited and difficult to program for extended conversations or dialogue.

Language immersion. This method is usually used in preschools or kindergartens that accept children with special needs. Throughout the day in the group, the child is immersed in an environment that motivates him to speak. Each item is clearly named, and each child is engaged in conversation even if they cannot speak (“David, is my jacket blue? Nod if my jacket is blue”). Teachers work individually with each child, teaching them to take turns, maintain eye contact, and pay attention to what the other person is doing. In my opinion, such classes are very similar to the Kegel method or basic response training, one of the ABA approaches. The advantage of language immersion, like teaching basic communication skills, is that parents can easily use this method in communicating with their child. Such techniques focus on the developmental stages that typically lead to the emergence of first words, such as babbling, sound discrimination, imitation, responding to verbal instructions, and gestural communication. Individual work with a child includes natural communication and encouragement. For example, you can respond to your baby's babble as if it were words and carry on a conversation with him. Describe your actions and what the child is doing, even if he does not answer you in any way (“We are going up the stairs. Let’s count the steps: 1, 2, 3, 4...”). When you say this, maintain eye contact, build on common interests with your child, and turn learning into a fun game.

The sheer variety of programs, books, resources, and clinics that promise to teach autistic children to speak can be confusing for parents. Be very responsible when choosing a program and trust only those methods that have been researched and approved, as well as those that clearly and clearly describe how the method works and what it includes. If you need to pay for treatment or order a book to understand how the method works, then this is a reason for suspicion.

Whatever option you choose to teach your child to communicate will only be effective in different places and with different people if you provide support for the desired behavior. The child must learn that from now on others will not accept anything other than his communication system. This means that if you teach your child to gesture for cookies, he can no longer climb onto the kitchen counter to get the cookie jar from the refrigerator. Make communication with you a requirement, or your child will never communicate.

The child must also understand that communicating with people leads to good results. If the child has just learned the request “juice”, then every time he says “juice” you need to give him some juice. The child must see that with the help of communication you can quickly get what he needs or wants.

If you have started using a communication system for a child with autism, but the results are unsatisfactory, then ask yourself the question: “Is this communication system the only way for the child to get what he wants/needs?” If not, then perhaps this is the reason for the lack of improvement.

** Important Tip: It is very important to begin intervention at the earliest stages for language learning and development. If you want to achieve the best results, you need to start working with your child as early as possible. However, research shows that hope is not lost for older nonverbal children with autism. It will be more difficult for an older child to learn to speak, but it is nevertheless possible. The most effective methods for working with children over 5 years of age include the use of speech-generating devices (that do not suppress language) and developmental approaches that focus on developing divided attention.

That's what Heather O'Shea, executive director of Irvine, a center for comprehensive educational services, said when she saw a video presentation made by a mother for her children with autism.

With the help of such videos, a Balboa Island resident named Laura Kasbara taught her autistic children (son Max and daughter Anna) not only to speak and read, but ahead of the school curriculum, to enter college at the age of 16.

“Videos are ideal for helping autistic children learn,” says O’Shea. — They cut off external factors that can distract. They leave the focus on the only thing the child is studying at the moment.”

These videos are part of a curriculum called Gemiini. Laura developed this program herself out of pure necessity.

Her son Max inspired her to achieve this achievement. At the age of 3 years, Max's speech development was at the level of a 10-month-old child. He and his twin sister Anna were diagnosed with autism at the age of 2. While Anna began to speak and knew a few words, Max knew none. Laura Kasbar's efforts to get her son to talk were unsuccessful and frustrated her to the point of tears.

But she didn't give up. The idea to make the videos came when she learned that her son needed visual support in learning, a medium that wasn't as intrusive as a normal person in 3D space—something that would help him focus and learn.

Kasbar and her husband, Brian, stayed up until the early hours of the morning filming these videos. She asked her husband to focus the camera on her lips so that Max could see exactly how a word was being pronounced.

A few days later, Max said his first word: “Puc.”

It was the word cup. He said the word backwards, but Kasbar was delighted, she realized that her method was working.

She has never had and still does not have experience working as a psychologist or ABA therapist.

“I was just a desperate mother who was interested in helping my children succeed,” she said.

An effective tool

The Kasbars, parents of seven children, now want to make their method available to every child and adult with a speech disorder, whether caused by autism, Down syndrome or traumatic brain injury.

For them it became an all-consuming passion. Two years ago, Brian Kasbar left his job in finance to help bring the Gemiini program to the training market. It was only two months ago that the program became widely available through a website, although it has been used in numerous clinical studies over the past 15 years, Laura Kasbar says. This program was studied by researchers from Princeton University and the University of California at San Diego.

Last year, the Irvine Unified School District conducted an experiment with kindergarten children who were autistic. Patricia Fabrizio, who teaches children at Alderwood Primary School, said children spent 20 minutes a day, five days a week, doing exercises with Gemiini modeling videos. And they did this for 10 weeks.

“The kids really enjoyed it,” Fabrizio said, “It was great to see them all paying attention to the video at the same time.”

She said Disney videos or other educational videos did not appeal to the group because they were unpredictable. She also noted that while watching such videos, children were constantly distracted or screaming.

But Gemiini's videos took away the element of surprise. They provided a level of comfort for the children, which helped them learn, Fabrizio said.

She assured that Gemiini perfectly complements other learning tools.

The results of the Gemiini clinical trial, conducted in four classrooms in the Inglewood School District, will be published in March in the journal Special Education Technology, Kasbar said. The study, which is currently being peer-reviewed, concludes that effective and inexpensive therapies such as Gemiini show "promise" because they can significantly improve the language of children with autism and other disabilities in special education classrooms.

The creators of the method claim that Gemiini can help children with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Down syndrome, dyslexia or any disorder that prevents them from learning language and reading skills normally.

“All these years, information about the program has spread only by word of mouth,” Kasbar shared. “Parents would learn about the system from another parent or therapist and then contact me. And I made a video for them."

Study Focus

Now the video production team has expanded from two people (the Kasbars) to an entire team of professionals: actors, video editors, editors and producers who work in Spokane, Wash.

The videos themselves “are very different,” ranging from typical instructional videos to ones that may seem counterintuitive to some, notes Kasbar.

Each video lasts from 30 seconds to two or even five minutes depending on the grade level and age of the student. Typically, a video for teaching new words consists of three segments. The first segment shows a man standing in front of a white screen speaking a word. A picture appears in the background depicting the meaning of the word.

The second segment shows a close-up of just the mouth of the person saying the word. In the third part, the word is repeated several times without a face in the picture. But the video shows images of different trousers, for example, so that the student knows that trousers can have different shapes, sizes and details.

Kasbar argues that there is a reason for this particular format.

“Autistic children tend to have indiscriminate memory. They tend to internalize everything they see,” she said. “This way, video helps filter information so they can study without distractions and remember what is relevant to the subject matter being studied.”

“Additionally, children with autism have difficulty making eye contact and interacting with ‘real’ people,” Kasbar noted. “So learning through 2D video rather than with a real person makes it easier.”

Kaspar believes that the best time to play videos is during meals. The videos are also well-received when shown to a group of children, she said.

Maria Gilmore, a behavior analyst practicing in Portland, Oregon, says that when used correctly, Gemiini can eliminate the need for therapists to spend hours a day in therapy, teaching children things they could learn via video just as effectively. This saves thousands of dollars in therapy costs.

“As far as I can tell, it works better than any intervention for language and social skills,” Gilmore says. “There is no doubt that autistic people learn faster through video modeling.”

She has used this approach in her work for about two years and recommends it to clients around the world.

“This program is great for remote areas of the world where therapists are not available,” she said. “Even here in the United States, we have a huge shortage of therapists compared to the number that is needed.”

Distribution of the program

Laura and Brian Kasbar said they have started using Gemiini in several countries. The program is already available in Spanish, Chinese and American Sign Language.

In countries such as the UK, Australia, South Africa, Botswana and India, children watch it in English. The couple plans to expand the program to countries such as Jordan and are looking for translators from Arab countries.

“We are also looking for cultural consultants because we want to incorporate culture into our video presentations,” Laura said.

The Gemiini website features a library of over 12,000 videos where anyone can learn words, languages, numbers, and even professional skills like interview preparation. Parents or guardians can go into the library, select their categories, and customize them to their individual needs. There is also a tool that helps parents, caregivers or therapists measure a child's progress over time.

For this family, the Gemiini program is more than a business venture.

“It's about helping children and families who don't have access to therapy anywhere in the world,” Laura Kasbar said. "With Gemiini, if you have the Internet, you have therapy."

Kimberly Piersell

Introduction

Current state of the problem of developing communication skills in children with childhood autism

1.1 The concept of communication, its structure, types, main stages of development in ontogenesis

1.2 Features of communication in children with RDA

1.3 Features of the development of play activity in children with childhood autism

2.Formation of communication skills of children with ASD

1 Goals, objectives and methods of studying communication skills in children with childhood autism

2.2 Study of verbal and nonverbal communication of children with autism

3 Study of the play activities of children with RDA

3. Pedagogical correction of communication skills in children with childhood autism

3.1 Principles and methods of pedagogical correction for children with RDA

2 Formation of communication skills in children with autism using play techniques

3.3 Control experiment

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

According to modern researchers, the incidence of forms of autism in children is 40-45 cases per 10,000 newborns for childhood autism and 60-70 cases for other forms of autistic disorders. Today, due to the clinical diversity of manifestations of this disorder, as well as from a purely practical point of view, there is a lot in common in correctional work with children with various forms of autistic disorders, and the term “autism spectrum disorder - ASD” arose as a kind of compromise between theory and practice. uniting all variants of autistic disorders.

In the modern world, there is a tendency to increase the incidence of autism spectrum disorders in children. In this regard, the question of the possibilities of socialization of preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders is very relevant.

Analysis of the literature data showed that there are a number of classifications of childhood autism. Having analyzed their content, we can conclude that the conceptual-categorical apparatus is insufficiently clear. In Russia, the terms and concepts set out in the ICD and in the works of V.M. are common. Bashina. In recent years, the term “autism spectrum disorder” (ASD), which includes: autistic disorder, infantile autism, infantile autism, infantile psychosis, Kanner syndrome, Asperberger syndrome, etc., has become commonly used.

According to the majority of authors (E.R. Baenskaya, O.S. Nikolskaya, M.M. Liebling, S.S. Morozova, R. Jordan, L. Kanner, B. M. Prizant, M. Rutter, H. Tager-Flusberg, A.L. Schuler et al.), one of the main disorders that impede successful adaptation in autism spectrum disorders in children is qualitative impairments in communication skills represented by the following indicators: retardation or complete absence of spoken language, inability to initiate or maintain a conversation with others, stereotypical use of language, lack of a variety of spontaneous play or social imitation games. It is emphasized that the underdevelopment of verbal communication is not compensated spontaneously by the use of non-verbal means (gestures, facial expressions) and alternative communication systems. (DSM-IV).

Specialists from different countries have accumulated some experience, allowing them to conclude that the formation of communication skills in early childhood autism is a problem of a pedagogical nature. In this regard, in recent decades, foreign researchers have identified approaches to developing the communication skills of preschoolers with childhood autism. At the same time, specialists are developing methods for correcting communication skills in children of this category.

In domestic correctional pedagogy and special psychology, the clinical condition of children who suffer from autism spectrum disorders has been described in sufficient detail, and the specific features of speech and communication of such children have been characterized. But despite this, there is a lack of diagnostic techniques that allow assessing the level of development of communication skills. Separate methodological techniques are described that are aimed not so much at the formation, but at the development of speech as a whole. (S.S. Morozova, O.S. Nikolskaya, V.M. Bashina, T.I. Morozova, L.G. Nuriev.)

The formation of communication skills of preschoolers with early childhood autism can be effective provided that a differentiated system of pedagogical correction is developed and implemented, taking into account the characteristics and level of development of these skills and including the use of gaming skills. The use of gaming techniques to develop communication skills in preschool children with ASD is one of the most effective, since play is the leading activity in preschool age.

The relevance of the topic was determined research problem: what areas in the system of pedagogical correction contribute to the effective formation of communication skills in preschool children with early childhood autism.

The purpose of the studyis the development of a differentiated system of pedagogical correction aimed at developing the communication skills of preschool children with childhood autism, taking into account their level of development and including the use of game techniques.

Object of study- communication of preschool children with childhood autism.

Subject of study -pedagogical process of developing communication skills in preschool children with early childhood autism, including the use of gaming techniques.

The purpose, object and subject of the study determined hypothesis: the formation of communication skills in preschoolers with childhood autism can be effective provided that a differentiated system of pedagogical correction is developed, taking into account the characteristics and level of development of these skills and including the use of game techniques.

In accordance with the purpose and hypothesis of the study, the following were determined: tasks:

· determine the theoretical and methodological foundations of the problem of developing communication skills in preschool children with RDA;

· identify specific features and levels of development of communication and play skills in preschool children with RDA;

· determine the directions, content and techniques of a differentiated system of pedagogical correction for the formation of communication skills; to check the effectiveness of the developed system of pedagogical correction, including the use of game techniques during experimental work

Methodological basisthe issue under study consisted of philosophical ideas about the leading role of communication in the formation of personality; provisions of psychology and pedagogy on the unity of thinking and speech (L.S. Vygotsky, A.R. Luria, V.I. Lubovsky, S.L. Rubinstein), research by M.I. Lisina, demonstrating that communication is a decisive factor influencing the mental development of a child, the concept of periodization of mental development in ontogenesis, the psychological theory of play by D.B. Elkonin.

This study is based on the idea of ​​childhood autism as a distorted type of mental development, the main manifestation of which is a communication disorder that arises as a result of affective disorders (E.R. Baenskaya, O.S. Nikolskaya, K.S. Lebedinskaya, V.V. Lebedinsky, etc. .) and cognitive deficiencies (L.Wing, D.M. Ricks, J.A. Ungerer, R. Jordan, M. Sigman, etc.) The work used a comprehensive differentiated approach to correctional work (T.A. Vlasova)

To solve the problems and test the hypothesis, the following were used: research methods:

· theoretical research methods: analysis of psychological, pedagogical, psycholinguistic and medical literature on the problem of developing communication skills in preschool children with ASD;

· organizational methods: comparative, longitudinal (study over time), complex;

· experimental methods: ascertaining, formative, control;

· psychodiagnostic methods: observation, questionnaire tests, conversations, interviews;

· biographical methods: collection and analysis of anamnestic data;

· quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data obtained;

Scientific novelty of the research. During the research process:

-the goals and means of correctional pedagogical influence on children with early childhood autism have been determined, taking into account the needs of the child, the expectations of his family and society as a whole

-In correctional pedagogical work, consistent structured sets of activities based on the game process have been introduced for successful correctional and pedagogical influence on the child, taking into account his individual needs.

-use in correctional pedagogical work as a support for the method of interaction with the child during play activities for the process of developing communication and play skills of children 3-5 years old with RDA. The choice of method is justified by the fact that gaming activities are comfortable for preschool children, which makes it possible to achieve a positive reaction to contact with the child for further correctional and pedagogical activities.

Theoretical significanceresearch is that:

A scientifically based set of modified methods for developing communication skills for preschool children with RDA has been developed. The need for the use of modern technologies in correctional pedagogical work on the development of communication skills for preschool children with RDA is substantiated.

The conceptual foundations for the formation and development of communication skills for preschool children with RDA are formulated, including significant principles and conditions for increasing motivational and moral-aesthetic basic skills in children of this age, and the formation of the foundations of communication.

Practical significance of the study:

Taking into account the individual characteristics of each child, their physical and psychological characteristics, and the need for a complex effect on the body of the participants in the process, a set of modified gaming techniques has been developed for the process of communication skills for preschool children with RDA. The complex was tested and achieved positive results.

The provisions and conclusions enrich the scientific, methodological and practical base of institutions. The proposed set of gaming techniques is used in practical institutions by specialists - speech therapists, teachers - defectologists, teachers - psychologists.

Organization of the study.The experimental study was carried out on the basis of the State Budgetary Professional Educational Institution of Moscow "Small Business College No. 4" Preschool building 1.

The work was carried out in three stages:

At the first stage, the problem of the process of developing communication skills in preschool children with early childhood autism was analyzed. At this stage, an analysis of psychological, pedagogical, psycholinguistic and medical research was carried out, the purpose, hypothesis, and objectives of the study were determined. At the second stage, a confirmatory experiment was conducted, during which specific features and levels of development of communication and play skills in preschool children with early childhood autism were identified. At the third stage, formative and control experiments were carried out, as a result of which methodological recommendations for the development of communication and play skills in children with early childhood autism were developed and adapted.

1. Current state of the problem of developing communication skills in children with childhood autism

.1 The concept of communication, its types, structure, main ontogenetic stages of development

In the literature today there are many studies in the field of communication. The sources contain information about the types, structure and specific features of communication, stages of development of communication. Considering the most well-known approaches to this issue, there are two main ones.

Information theory says that communication is the sending of information from one system to another and the reception of this information. The main thing in this is the fact of information transfer. Communication is the act of transmitting a message, on the one hand, and the act of receiving and interpreting, on the other hand. .

Some authors take a different point of view. Those who participate in the communication process assume the partner’s activity. The interlocutor plays the role of a subject, not an object of interaction. As a result, it is important to analyze the motives, attitudes and goals of the partner to whom the information is directed. Then the logical conclusion would be that in response to the information, new information will be received, coming from another participant in the communication process. Summarizing the above, we can assume that between the participants in communication there is not just a transfer, but an active exchange of information between the subjects participating in the communication.

Also, when developing communication skills, it becomes very important to take into account the formal side, recording the transfer of information.

It should be remembered that individuals participating in communication have a direct influence on each other.

In the process of communication, interaction occurs between partners, which entails an influence on the behavior of the participants in communication and a change in the relationship between them. In this regard, it must be remembered that communicative influence occurs under the condition that all participants in communication have a unified system for encoding and decoding information. It is this aspect of communication that ensures that partners understand each other.

Many modern researchers agree that communication is a structural unit of communication. Communication is an element of communication during which ideas, interests and feelings are exchanged. D.B. Elkonin is a supporter of the opinion that communication should be identified as a separate type of activity. In addition, mutual information in the communication process leads to the emergence of joint activities.

If we consider communication from the point of view of its structure, we can distinguish three interconnected sides: perceptual, interactive and communicative. [Andreeva G.M.] Communication is an aspect of activity, and activity is a condition of communication. [Leontyev A.A.].

Communication has three important functions: affective-communicative, information-communicative, regulatory-communicative. [Lomov B.F.]

The communicative functions that are formed at an early age include the following: stating a fact, explaining what is happening, expressing feelings, requesting information, etc.

Researchers distinguish two types of information: motivating and ascertaining. Ascertaining information implies a message that does not directly affect the behavior of the participants in the conversation. But indirect influence on behavior remains possible. Incentive information is aimed at motivating actions and directly changing the behavior of the interlocutor.

The process of transmitting information is carried out using sign systems.

Depending on sign systems, two types of communication are distinguished: verbal and non-verbal.

Speech and language acquisition are the basis of verbal communication.

Speech is a universal means of communication. Verbal communication is most often expressed in the form of dialogue. Dialogue is a variable exchange of remarks between two or more people. Nonverbal communication - communication through gestures, facial expressions, through direct or indirect bodily contacts. Many forms of nonverbal communication are innate for a person, which allows him to fully interact at the level of emotions and behavior. For example, a child's request to be picked up can be expressed by stretching his arms. A child’s smile when looking at a familiar person indicates positive emotions.

A person is able to perceive more information about a person’s true feelings and emotions through non-verbal signals. This suggests that nonverbal communication makes communication most effective.

There are sign systems of nonverbal communication

1.Optical-kinetic system. It includes: facial expressions, pantomimes, feelings, emotions of a person and his appearance.

2.Paralinguistic and extralinguistic systems. The extralinguistic system is the rate of speech, crying, coughing, pauses, laughter, etc. The paralinguistic system includes the vocal qualities of the voice, timbre, range, and tone.

3.Organization of time and space of communication. This system is special because it gives meaning to the communicative situation. The organization of space and time of communication has the following components: direction of partners relative to each other, visual contact, distance between partners during communication.

Based on the listed components of the communication process, we can note the importance and diversity of nonverbal communication.

Verbal and nonverbal communication are used together or separately depending on the participants in the communication and the situation in which they find themselves. Researchers identify elements of communication.

1.Source (communicator)

2.Encoding information

3.Decoding information

4.Recipient (recipient)

If we consider the elements of communication more fully, we can find nine:

The sender is the one who sends the information.

2.Coding is the process of converting information into symbol form

3.Appeal - characters converted by the sender.

4.Media dissemination - channels through which information is transmitted.

5.Decoding is the process by which the recipient recognizes the characters received

6.The recipient is the one who receives information from the sender.

7.Response - responses from the recipient that occur during interaction with the sender.

8.Feedback is part of the response that the recipient brings to the attention of the sender.

9.Interference is the appearance of distortions or interference from outside, which lead to the fact that the sent information differs from what was originally sent. [F. Kotler]

The psychological structure of communication consists of:

· Communication needs

· Possibility of choice of communication means

· Ability to use dialogue skills

· Ability to play roles in the communication process

· Ability to express social functions

The elements of communication in their totality ensure effective communication at a high level.

The following parameters are identified that determine the effectiveness of a child’s communication:

Ø the ability to listen to your interlocutor;

Ø the ability to use and understand gestures according to their meaning;

Ø the presence of assistance in communication, which consists of the objects in question (images of objects, symbols, etc.)

Ø the ability to use and understand physique in a communication situation;

Ø the ability to use vocalizations and speech to express types of intonation that depend on the situation in the communication process

These conditions play a huge role in the formation of communication skills in children. Their deficiency leads to disruption of ontogenetic development and disruption of the sequence of formation of communication skills.

An analysis of the literature on this issue showed that in the process of ontogenetic development, a normally developing child consistently masters a set of certain communication skills (see Table 1).

Table 1 Formation of communication skills during normal ontogenetic development

AgeCommunication skills1 year - the child periodically imitates words; - uses gestures to express all communicative functions; - plays simple games aimed at social interaction; - combines gestures and words to express basic communication functions; - demonstrates preferences in a choice situation; 2 years - the child uses nonverbal means of communication to initiate interaction with peers; - comments and describes current events; - answers simple questions; - asks simple questions; - comforts other people in nonverbal ways; - supports simple dialogue with adults; 3 years - the child retells a familiar story while looking at the picture; - the child transfers past experiences into a real situation when he is asked to do the same; - talks about his feelings; - periodically enters into dialogue with peers; - enters into a simple dialogue on the phone; - initiates interaction with peers using verbal means of communication; - uses body language and facial expressions to convey information; 4 years - dialogue skills are developed and improved when communicating with peers; - the child retells a familiar story, television episode or movie plot; - uses social phrases (e.g., “sorry,” “excuse me”); -understands the logical sequence of events; - understands how to respond to other people's feelings; - begins to understand the body language of the interlocutor; 5 years - the child communicates on various topics; -begins to take into account the point of view of the interlocutor; - builds a dialogue based on the needs of the interlocutor; - uses speech to negotiate with the interlocutor and come to a compromise solution.

Based on these data, by the age of five to seven years, subject to normal development, the child masters basic communication skills, which leads to his successful adaptation in the social environment. Despite this, there are cases when a child is not able to independently master the communication skills necessary for successful socialization.

One of the most striking examples of the manifestation of communication disorders and undeveloped communication skills are children with autism. It is with such children that it is necessary to work with special training aimed at developing communication skills.

.2 Features of communication in children with childhood autism

Researchers have identified communication features characteristic of children with autism, among which the following can be noted: stereotypical behavior and getting stuck on one type of activity, difficulties in understanding the communicative situation, reluctance to take part in communication with one interlocutor or with several.

Impaired communication is the main diagnostic feature of childhood autism. In childhood autism, communication impairment begins in the early stages of child development.

Interesting studies have been conducted on various expressions of feelings (greeting, surprise, feeling of dissatisfaction, demand) in response to situational emotions from the outside. Children in the prelinguistic stage with normal development and children with autism were studied. The age of autistic children is from 3 to 6 years, and the age of normally developing children is from 1 to 2 years. The study showed that parents of children with autism were able to recognize the sounds of their children's reactions and the reactions of typically developing children who had the same emotional and semantic interpretation. But despite this, it was noted that when listening to the sound reactions of other children with autism, the same parents were unable to recognize the meaning of these emotional manifestations.

These studies allow us to highlight several features:

Children with autism either do not have or lose the ability to express emotions that everyone can recognize (universal emotions).

Children diagnosed with autism express their feelings purposefully.

In order to recognize the emotional expressions of a child with autism, you need to know him well enough.

Based on research, the following communication disorders can be identified in autistic children in the early stages of development:

ü lack of fixation of gaze on the person’s eyes, avoidance of visual contact

ü lack of social smiling (reaction to mother or other loved one).

ü unexpressed reaction to the mother’s face, sound, light, disturbance of the revitalization complex

ü indifferent or negative attitude towards other people, poor interaction

ü the buzz may be absent, monotonous, and have no communicative meaning

ü lack of reaction to a name, weak reaction to another person’s speech or its complete absence;

ü unformed pointing gesture.

Despite the fact that the features of communication disorders at an early age are identified, their manifestation is not systematic. Based on this, some authors suggest that diagnosing autism in infancy is not fully possible.

There is an opinion that the specificity in the communication of children with autism is more clearly manifested in the second year of a child’s life. Peculiarities in behavior begin to appear by the age of one and a half years. Among the manifestations, the following shortcomings are noted: attention, instability of emotions, poor response.

Already in the first months of life, children with autism showed impairments in expressive and receptive communication. A lack of communication with parents through eye or tactile contact was revealed. It was also revealed that there were no separate reactions to changes in maternal behavior.

Observations by foreign researchers have shown that emotional disturbances, disturbances in auditory and visual behavior, and abnormal development of the motor sphere in children with autism are observed in the first two years of life.

Also, in these children, deficiencies in social interaction were noticed in the form of hypotonia and hypoactivity, supported by minimal expression of any emotional reactions.

Based on these studies, we can say that already at the early stages of development, children with autism exhibit disturbances in synchronized communication, which, at this stage of development, is formed in normal children.

Based on the observations of researchers, it can be assumed that many children with autism do not develop functional speech. At the same time, the formation of nonverbal communication to compensate for speech does not occur.

Some children are still able to master functional speech, which manifests itself in basic attempts at communication. Researchers are looking at some features of expressive language in children with autism:

1.Stereotypical speech, consisting of repeated statements with no specific meaning.

2.Features of prosody

3.With formed speech, its use in dialogue is not spontaneous

4.Direct and delayed echololia

The most interesting feature for researchers is echololy. Some of them believe that echololy is a statement whose meaning is often not clear to the child. They are inclined to believe that in children with autism, echololia manifests itself when the child interacts with someone one-on-one and when establishing a visual connection.

Considering the phenomenon of echolalia, two assumptions were made:

· in cases where the child does not understand the meaning of his echolalic utterances, echolalia for the child serves as a way to enter into a conversation

· in the case when the child is fully aware of the meaning of echolalia manifestations, echolalia is used by him as autostimulation or purposeful transmission of information

Due to the multidirectionality of these assumptions, a number of researchers have found that normally developing children also go through the stage of echolalia. In this regard, we can say that echololy precedes conscious speech utterance. Based on these findings, echolalia began to be positioned as a positive stage for normal speech development.

According to foreign authors, autistic children have problems understanding speech. This violation manifests itself in the form of a misunderstanding of the signal and symbolic meaning of speech units of communication, as well as a misunderstanding of the context in which speech utterances are used.

Foreign researchers note that the main difficulty in understanding speech in a child is... That the child is unable to understand the meaning of units of speech and speech as part of a specific context.

The researchers concluded that even with visual cues, understanding speech in a certain situation given to a child is difficult. Over time, the child's ability to use language in context. Building on previous experience makes it possible. But as a rule, this positive phenomenon is temporary. Domestic scientists are of the opinion that impaired understanding of speech in a child with autism occurs not because of difficulties in understanding the syntactic structures themselves, but because of difficulties in mastering the connections between them, the connections between the image of a word and its meaning. Also, domestic researchers believe that one of the main reasons for a child’s misunderstanding of speech is a violation of autostimulation and behavior.

It is important to note that verbal communication impairment indicates that an autistic child is unable to communicate normally through speech.

In some situations, autistic children express their requests and convey some information in unusual ways:

· a request can only serve as a means of autostimulation;

· speech utterances sometimes do not have any communicative nature;

· For the purpose of communication, the child prefers to use echololy, but at the same time does not pay attention to the person at whom the communication attempts are directed. Analysis of modern literature data and generally accepted diagnostic systems allows us to identify the so-called “triad of disorders” characteristic of children with childhood autism:

-impairment of social interaction;

-communication skills;

imagination or flexibility of thinking.

The scheme proposed by L. Wing, R. Jordan, S. Powell gives the most complete picture of the clinical, psychological and pedagogical features of childhood autism (Fig. 1).

Figure 1. “The Triad of Violations” (Wing, 1996; Jordan, Powell, 1995)

According to R.P. Hobson, autistic children are characterized by a lack of ability to perceive the emotions of other people and adequately respond to them. U. Frith also emphasizes that autistic children have problems understanding and deciphering the meaning of emotions; they demonstrate a lack of empathy, they are characterized by a lack of flexibility of thinking, difficulties in understanding the hidden meaning.

According to A.R. Damasio, R. G. Maurer, disturbances in affective activity and difficulties in assessing emotions are associated with a lack of functioning of the parts of the brain responsible for these processes. This can impede their ability to see the meaning and significance of what is happening, as well as hinder their self-awareness and, as a result, understanding of other people. The difficulty with “awareness of oneself” and the assessment of affective experiences is expressed in the inability to realize one’s own emotional states, which prevents the understanding of the mental, “mental states” of other people: their desires, intentions.

Emotional disturbances in children with autism appear from the first months of life and are closely related to disturbances in behavior, communication and social interaction. Let us consider the main stages and patterns of social development in children with childhood autism.

At the age of six months, an autistic child is less active and demanding than with normal development. Some children are very excitable. They show little eye contact. They have no reciprocal social manifestations. An autistic child does not imitate sounds, gestures, or facial expressions. By 8 months, about 1/3 of children become overly withdrawn and may actively reject interaction. About 1/3 of children with autism love attention but have little interest in other people.

By the age of one year, when an autistic child masters walking independently, contact usually decreases. There is no distress when separated from the mother. In some cases, withdrawal or lack of response occurs when trying to attract the child’s attention to objects in the environment. The absence of a pointing gesture is noted. Very often, when a child wants something, he approaches a person he knows, takes him by the hand and leads him to the desired object without making eye contact.

At two years old, a child with autism distinguishes his parents from others, but does not express much affection. He can hug and kiss, but he does it formally, automatically, or at the request of another person. Does not distinguish between adults (except parents). Severe fears are possible. Typically, such a child prefers solitude.

At the age of 3 years, an autistic child, in many cases, becomes excitable. Doesn't allow other people to come near him. Cannot understand the meaning of punishment.

By the age of four, the ability to understand the rules of the game is not formed.

Unlike typically developing children, at the age of five an autistic child is more interested in adults than in peers. Often becomes more sociable, but the interaction is characterized by strangeness and one-sidedness.

According to the theory, depending on the degree of impairment in the sphere of socialization, three groups of autistic children can be distinguished: socially alienated, passively interactingAnd interacting “actively, but strangely”.

1. Social alienationcharacterized by the following features:

alienation and indifference towards the outside world (the exception is situations when special needs are met

child); interaction with an adult is carried out primarily tactilely (tickling, touching); social contacts do not cause noticeable interest in the child; there are weak signs of verbal and nonverbal interaction; lack of ability for joint activities and mutual attention; avoiding eye contact; stereotypical behavior; in some cases - lack of response to changes in the environment; moderate to severe cognitive impairment.

2. Passive interaction, characterized by the following manifestations: limited ability for spontaneous social contacts; the child accepts the attention of other people (children and adults); the child does not experience obvious satisfaction from social contacts, at the same time, cases of active refusal to interact are rare; it is possible to use verbal and non-verbal forms of communication; Characteristic is direct echolalia, less often - delayed; cognitive impairment of varying severity.

3.At "active but strange" interactionthe following features are noted: spontaneous attempts at social contacts (more often with adults, less often with children); during interaction, in some cases, characteristic repetitive actions are observed: repeated repetition of questions, verbal stereotypes; depending on the situation, speech has a communicative and non-communicative orientation, direct and delayed echolalia is noted; underdevelopment or lack of skills in role-playing games; the external side of the interaction is of greater interest than the content; the child can understand and be aware of the emotional reactions of other people; the social behavior of children in this group is perceived by others worse than the behavior of people from the passive group.

Domestic researchers (K.S. Lebedinskaya, O.S. Nikolskaya) highlight four groupschildren with childhood autism, who differ in the level of maladaptation, the degree of developmental distortion, the nature of autism and the possibility of socialization. Each of these groups is characterized by a certain level of ability to interact with the outside world and, corresponding to this level, forms of autostimulation and protection. Children firstgroups are characterized by detachment from the environment, second- her rejection, third- its replacement, fourth- overinhibition in social contacts.

Foreign and domestic researchers consider the problem of social interaction from different positions.

Very interesting is the “theory of consciousness” by U. Frith, which explains problems in the field of social interaction in children with childhood autism, first of all, by the inability to understand the emotions, intentions and thoughts of other people. According to U. Frith, autistic children have no or poorly developed “theory of consciousness”: they are not able to understand what is expressed by the gaze, facial expressions, and postures of other people. Autistic children are characterized by hyperrealism; they cannot understand that people's emotions and intentions are hidden behind literal perceptions. They have difficulty understanding the behavior, actions and actions of others. For this reason they are called "socially blind". Thus, U. Frith explains the shortcomings of social interaction primarily by cognitive impairment.

According to U. Firth, deficits in social interaction in autism are largely associated with cognitive impairment.

Domestic researchers associate the problem of social interaction to a greater extent with shortcomings in the affective sphere. According to V.V. Lebedinsky, K.S. Lebedinskaya, O.S. Nikolskaya at the basis of autistic dysontogenesis are severe disturbances in the functioning of the affective sphere. The authors describe the special pathological conditions in which the mental development of an autistic child occurs: a persistent combination of two factors - impaired activity and a decrease in the threshold of affective discomfort. This is manifested in disturbances in tone, weakness of motives and research activity, rapid fatigue, exhaustion and satiety in voluntary activities, and the predominance of negative sensations. In this regard, the mental system, which is formed in pathological conditions, solves, at the level possible for itself, the tasks of adaptation and self-regulation necessary for survival. The specificity of its functioning in autism is that the primary task is not the development of active forms of contact with the world, but means of protection from it, which manifest themselves in the form of pathological autostimulation and involve all mental functions. Thus, domestic authors associate the problem of socialization mainly with affective disorders.

The described approaches can be called “polar”, since they consider the same problem from opposite points of view, highlighting different aspects of the same violation. However, research in recent years has shown that social interaction problems arise from a combination of two factors: emotional and cognitive.

The most legitimate point of view is the point of view of J. Beyer, L. Gammeltoft, who believe that difficulties in the areas of social interaction and communication are explained by the immaturity of the internal tendency in autistic children to perceive the social aspect. According to their concept, the perception of the surrounding world and the organization of behavior in normally developing children is carried out within the framework of two aspects: social and material. They believe that during normal ontogenetic development, the information perceived by the child passes through two channels: one of them is responsible for the perception of information about the material world, and the other is responsible for processing information about the social world. As a result of these processes, children form a holistic picture of the perception of surrounding phenomena and events. In children with autism, information passes through only one channel - material.

Children are able to establish cause-and-effect relationships through exploratory behavior and sensorimotor activity. They may retain the ability for cognitive-perceptual processing of specific information received through the material channel. As a result of this, they develop an understanding and awareness of the functions of objects in the material world. But along with this, autistic children have an unformed internal tendency to perceive the social aspect. It is difficult for them to understand the meaning and meaning of the social world - the world of “communication”. They do not explore themselves and those around them through imitation - the natural biological ability to engage in interaction and communication based on imitation. Due to these circumstances, an autistic child does not form an affective consonance with a loved one. They are characterized by an inability to process abstract information emotionally and empathically.

Analysis of various approaches confirms the position of L.S. Vygotsky that children’s understanding of the world around them is associated with two factors: intellect and feelings. The affective and cognitive spheres are equally involved in processing information coming from the outside.

The problem of imagination and flexibility of thinking in autistic children has been discussed in particular detail in foreign literature. According to V. Du ö y, imagination involves the assimilation of our impressions and the use of these impressions and objects to create meanings that are independent of the external world. M. Peter views imagination as the ability to explore and experiment with one's memories and the ability to combine ideas rationally and irrationally. Domestic authors define imagination as the mental process of forming new images by processing the material of perceptions and ideas obtained in previous experience.

Imagination is the basis of visual-figurative thinking, which allows a person to navigate a situation and solve problems without the direct intervention of practical actions.

L.S. Vygotsky, S.L. Rubinstein note that imagination plays a huge role in human mental development and performs the following functions:

1.Representation of reality in images, the ability to use them when solving certain problems;

2.Regulation of emotional states;

3.Participation in the voluntary regulation of cognitive processes and human states, in particular perception, memory, speech, emotions;

4.Formation of an internal action plan;

5.Planning and programming activities, drawing up such programs, assessing their correctness, and the implementation process.

Early studies by L. Kanner suggested that the level of imagination of autistic children in some cases exceeds the abilities of children with a high level of intelligence. Only in the late 1970s - early 1980s, thanks to a number of studies by foreign authors, it became clear that in children with autism the imagination is not developed, or is developed at a low level. Let us consider the main ontogenetic stages of imagination development in normal and autistic children.

In the first months of life, the child perceives the world around him directly under the influence of his senses. As a result of this, the child forms the first internal images, which are an exact copy of objects in the surrounding world; those. the rudiments of the reproductive imagination are formed, which allows one to reproduce reality as it is. Such imagination is more like perception or memory than creativity. For many autistic children, their perception remains at the level of “photographic” impressions throughout their lives.

At the age of nine months, normally developing children are able to experience mutual, divided attention; the child’s impressions become consonant with the impressions of an adult. As a result, the child’s object images change significantly. Events occurring at this age are interpreted in the light of interaction with an adult. At this stage of development, the child is able to correlate two object images simultaneously: his own and the image of an adult. In terms of the formation of object images, the child seems to move from the “mono” to “stereo” level. The child's mental image is supplemented by the adult's interpretation. The child understands that his own images and impressions are different from another person. A consonance is formed between the images and emotional impressions of the child and the adult.

This level of perception is practically inaccessible to an autistic child. He is incapable of divided attention and “early dialogue.”

At the age of 18 months, a normally developing child is able to create flexible mental images; he is able to imagine the world around him, different from the one he sees; those. The child develops a productive imagination, which is distinguished by the fact that in it reality is consciously constructed by a person, and not simply mechanically copied or recreated. This is reflected in the child's ability to engage in symbolic play. The child has the opportunity to modify the real world, i.e. imagination abilities are formed.

Autistic children have impaired productive imagination; they are unable to form flexible images, or this process is very difficult. Foreign researchers are inclined to believe that problems in this area are expressed in the form of stereotypical behavior. M.A. Turner believes that children with autism experience an overwhelming tendency to repeat actions and thought processes in a stereotypical manner. In his opinion, they have impaired fluency of thought processes, in which normally developing children can spontaneously generate a series of responses to one stimulus. Thus, foreign studies link the stereotyping of autistic children with imagination disorders. Domestic researchers consider stereotypical behavior as a consequence of emotional disorders.

The concept of imagination is related to the concept of “creativity”. Modern literature identifies the following main indicators of creativity in the process of activity:

· Fluency of thinking - the ability to find many different solutions to one problem;

· Flexibility of thinking - the ability to see an object from a new angle, discover its new use, expand its functional application in practice;

· Originality - the ability to generate non-standard, unique ideas;

· Elaboration (accuracy) - the ability to develop an idea in detail.

According to L. Wing, autistic children show impairments in all indicators of creativity, especially flexibility of thinking. As a result, they find themselves unable to look at the current situation from a different position, to generate various creative ideas, the process of transferring developed skills to a new situation is difficult for them, and they are unable to create analogies and associations, including verbal ones. These specific features have a negative impact on the child’s behavior, which becomes stereotypical, with monotonous, repetitive actions. The problem of imagination in autistic children concerns, first of all, play activities, which are also characterized by stereotyping and the absence of symbolic play.

Thus, in autism there are disturbances in behavior, social interaction, and communication caused by a combination of cognitive and emotional deficiencies. According to researchers, the “triad of disorders” manifests itself in the form of specific features of the play activity of children with autism, therefore it is necessary to consider the problem of the development of play activity in childhood autism.

These features serve as confirmation that the child is not able to communicate due to a lack of understanding by those around him.

It is worth noting another important deficiency in the communication of a child with autism. This shortcoming is the inability to dialogue. And, consequently, the difficulty in determining the communicative roles in it.

When a dialogue does occur, the child finds it difficult to establish a relationship with the interlocutor. Regarding the topic of conversation during dialogue and its direction for the child, these phenomena often become incomprehensible and do not carry any meaning.

Children with autism have impairments in nonverbal communication. Children with autism do not show sufficient interest in hugs and tactile contact, even in infancy. They clearly demonstrate disturbances in contact with their own mother through gaze.

With autism, a child has limited ability to imitate the actions of an adult. The researchers focused on the fact that understanding facial expressions, facial expressions, gestures, and as a result of all this, the expression of emotions and the transmission of any information using non-verbal means becomes practically impossible for a child.

According to many authors, in a child with autism one can notice disturbances in vocal manifestations expressed in whispered speech and peculiarities of intonation. As for the problems of organizing the space of the communication process, their manifestation occurs due to shortcomings in understanding the rules of social behavior, and problems of this nature are manifested in failure to maintain distance, lack of ability to dialogue face to face with a partner.

In autism, social impairments are pronounced: inability to adequately respond to the emotions of others, poor expression of one’s own, minimal level of interaction with others.

Many researchers, along with impairments in communication and socialization of children with autism, note cognitive deficiencies. Such shortcomings manifest themselves, first of all, in a lack of understanding of the meaning and functions of surrounding objects. In turn, it is the understanding of these meanings and functions that is the catalyst for normal speech development. Children with autism have the ability to use objects not for their intended purpose, namely to perform stereotypical actions with them, such as: boredom, tossing, transferring from hand to hand, spinning, arranging objects in a certain order, etc.

Children with autism have difficulty grasping cause-and-effect relationships and do not understand them. That certain actions with objects can lead to the final result. At the same time, these violations are projected onto the formation of communication skills. An autistic person cannot understand. That speech utterances can lead to changes in the behavior of the interlocutor.

Children with autism have limited abstraction abilities, which affects their understanding of the structure of language and other symbolic systems. Children have difficulties in understanding speech and using it purposefully, and difficulties in establishing a connection between an event and a word directly.

It can also be noted that violations of the child’s cognitive sphere manifest themselves in the inability to perform symbolic play. Children with autism have difficulty transferring communication skills from one given situation to another.

There are a significant number of methods that allow us to identify specific features of communicative and social behavior and assess the level of development of communicative and social skills of autistic children. A qualitative analysis of this group of techniques allows us to divide them conditionally into several subgroups:

1. Diagnostic scales that allow you to identify autistic disorders, social, communication and behavioral deficiencies in a child.This group of techniques includes the diagnostic card developed by K.S. Lebedinskaya and O.S. Nikolskaya, which allows a detailed examination of a child of two years of age if he is suspected of having childhood autism. It is aimed at identifying features in the development of all areas of a child with childhood autism: vegetative-instinctive, affective, drives, communication, perception, motor skills, intellectual development, speech, play activities, social behavior skills, psychosomatic correlations.

2. Adaptive behavior scales - standardized methods,designed to assess adaptive skills and identify the level of development of social, communication, motor skills, as well as self-care skills and behavioral characteristics of children with developmental disabilities. The most commonly used methods are: Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale; Assessment of children's adaptive behavior.

3. Methods designed to assess the level of development of children with autism and plan correctional and pedagogical interventions -Psychological and pedagogical profile. This group also includes methods aimed at identifying the level of development of the communication skills of children with autism and allowing one to outline the directions, goals and objectives of correctional work: Assessment of social and communication skills in children with autism; A technique developed within the framework of the program “Teaching Spontaneous Communication of Autistic Children and Children with Developmental Disabilities.”

4. Methods designed to assess the level of nonverbal communication in infants and young children.The Communicative and Symbolic Behavior Scale assesses communication and symbolic skills 8 - 24-month-old child, including gestural communication, vocalizations, interaction, affective signals in various communicative situations. The questionnaire, designed to diagnose autism in children aged 18 months, includes the sections: social interests, divided attention, gestural communication and play.

In order to develop communication skills in children with autism, three main approaches are being developed in foreign special pedagogy and psychology: psychoanalytic, behavioristAnd psycholinguistic.

IN psychoanalytic approach, which dominated the 1950s and 1960s, the language of autistic children was seen as a means of expressing conflicts that psychoanalysts believed were the cause of their autistic symptoms. For example, L. Jackson viewed autism in general, and lack of response to social stimuli in particular, as a defense mechanism in response to what is perceived as extreme danger.

Psychoanalytic approaches did not consider language as a goal of therapy. Analysis of the speech of autistic children was important in determining the nature of their internal conflicts. At the same time, the goal of therapy was to resolve these internal conflicts related to self-awareness. It was believed that as knowledge and ideas about oneself expanded, the child’s speech changed and became more adequate.

Domestic scientists do not agree with this point of view and believe that targeted training is necessary when developing communication skills in autistic children.

Behaviorist approachto the formation of communication skills in children with autism originated in the first half of the 1960s. Proponents of this approach made early efforts to develop speech and language skills in autistic children using operant conditioning techniques. Programs in this area began mainly with teaching a child to sit on a chair for a certain period of time, establish eye contact according to instructions and imitate the movements of an adult. Then the child was taught to imitate individual sounds, words and understand the meaning of words: the child had to choose the appropriate object or picture in response to the teacher’s verbal instructions. After this, the child was taught to name objects, pictures, or their features in response to a verbal stimulus (for example, “What is this?” or “Where is the block?”). A child who had mastered these skills was taught to answer questions in the form of simple phrases (for example, “This is a ball” or “The cube is in the box”). In behaviorist programs, stimulus conditions, learning contexts, and prompts were developed in detail; Great emphasis was placed on reinforcing correct responses. The earliest of these programs taught children the use of appropriate language concepts in the context of structured therapeutic sessions. At the same time, the issue of applying the acquired communication skills in everyday life was not considered. autism pedagogical children

The main problem was that children were not capable of spontaneous transfer and did not use the learned skills in natural settings to transfer information. This led to some changes in programs. More and more emphasis has been placed on the concept of "functionality" of communication skills in everyday life. In this regard, much attention began to be paid to the “natural consolidation” of the skill, which is very important when working with autistic children.

To develop communication skills, supporters of the behaviorist direction recommend using a large number of varied tasks with the participation of several people.

Particularly effective is the “accompanying learning” technique, which allows children to learn communication skills within naturally occurring situations. Thus, the educational process is based on the personal interests and needs of the child, which leads to increased learning efficiency. Despite the obvious advantages, accompanying learning has not been widely used in modern pedagogy and psychology.

Another direction in the development of behaviorist approaches is training in the use of alternative communication systems: gestures, vocalizations, pictures, pictograms, written speech. The emergence of alternative communication systems was associated with the need to educate autistic children who could not master communication skills using the technique of “behaviorist modification.” Alternative means allow many non-verbal autistic children to acquire a specific set of communication skills.

Very interesting is psycholinguistic approach, which has become widespread abroad. Its peculiarity is that researchers study the ontogenetic development of normal children and apply this knowledge when studying and teaching autistic children. They compare the sequence of acquisition of communication skills in normal conditions and in autism, and consider the relationship and relationship between the levels of linguistic, cognitive and social development of an autistic child. The earliest research in this area focused on the syntactic structure of the language of autistic children. Then interest increased in the study of semantic aspects, i.e. the meaning of speech units of communication. Most recent research has focused on the pragmatic aspects of language. Questions were examined about the ability of autistic children to use language according to its meaning in various social contexts.

.3 Features of the development of play activity in ontogenesis in children with childhood autism

Most authors associate communication skills and the development of language ability in children with early childhood autism with a violation of cognitive processes. The lack of development of symbolic play skills in an autistic person is a direct sign of communication disorders.

If we rely on one of the well-known theories of J. Piaget, then we can say that it depends on the child’s ability to perceive and process information. The formation of his speech, and therefore his communicative ability, directly depends on the knowledge of the signs and properties of objects. It can also be noted. That the process of manipulating objects is closely related to the development of thinking (L.S. Vygotsky, A.R. Luria, V.I. Lubovsky)

Researchers claim that there is a relationship between the development of gaming skills and communication skills. In this regard, it becomes necessary to consider the features of gaming activity.

In the early stages of development, the main activity for a child is emotional interaction with adults. Based on this, the first object for play manipulation is the adult himself who is with the child.

In the first six months of a child’s life, play represents a special type of communication for him, in which the child begins to use nonverbal means of communication. This indicates the manifestation of situational and personal communication.

In the second half of the year, the child has a need to interact with an adult on the basis of play manipulations involving various objects.

At the age of 1-3 years, object-manipulative activity becomes leading

Researchers identify three phases of the formation of substantive activity

I phase - free manipulation - the child performs an action with an object that is free in nature.

II phase - functional actions - the child performs the action.

Corresponding functions of the item.

III phase - the child uses the object at will while being aware of its function. (L.S. Vygodsky, D.B. Elkonin)

Object-manipulative activities develop the cognitive sphere and orientation in space.

In preschool age, the role-playing game becomes the leading one; it is aimed at the personal development of the child, helps the child to master the features of interpersonal relationships. In the process of this type of games, children master the features of non-situational forms of communication by playing out situations of social interaction.

In the process of role-playing play, a child can take on the roles of adults and partially reproduce their actions with the help of substitute objects.

If we consider the classifications of games, then for studying the social and communicative significance of the stages of development of gaming activity for a child, the most suitable classification is the classification of Western researchers.

1.Matching game - the child explores the properties of objects. Items are not used for their intended purpose. The toys are placed inside each other, in one line, on top of each other. This type of play is typical for children aged 6 to 9 months. This type of games not only forms in the child an awareness of his own actions.

2.Functional play - during this type of play, the child realizes the meaning of objects, trying to use them for their intended purpose. Play skills are formed in a child in the second year of life. The child begins to imitate the subject orientation of adults.

An autistic child can accumulate quite intensively a passive vocabulary of a nominative nature, that is, consisting mainly of nouns. At the same time, the development of phrasal speech in a child may be slow, he experiences difficulties in mastering the semantic components of speech, and cannot independently formulate his thoughts verbally. It is particularly difficult to update the verb dictionary.

In this case, you need to start working on using verbs and forming a predicative vocabulary, based on specially selected speech structures. You can learn more about the methodology for working on the structure of a simple sentence and the development of speech in children with ASD by studying the book by L. G. Nurieva ( You can download Nureyeva’s book + visual materials on the website aut-kniga.ru, or buy it in a storelabyrinth). I suggest downloading ready-made cards for classes, with a description of how they should be used. Simple tasks will help the child master the deep semantic structure of a sentence of 2-3 words, introduce already learned cliche phrases into new sentences and use them in a different context.

Exercise 1

Nurieva recommends starting work on the structure of a simple sentence with verbs that denote objective actions. For this purpose, select toys in the form of people or animals in various poses that imitate the actions of people (for example, you can take toys from “Kinder Surprises”) and prepare cards with the necessary verbs (eats, walks, crawls, stands, etc. .), you can download the cards from the link below. Invite your child to pick up cards with verbs for each toy and voice what the little man is doing (“She’s standing,” “He’s walking,” etc.). Then you can ask the child to show a toy that repeats the speech therapist’s movement or to imitate the action of the toy.

Then, instead of toys, they take flat images of people in different poses. With the cards, follow the same instructions as in the previous task. At the same time, pictures with animals and objects help to form an understanding that verbs can denote not only the actions of people, but also other creatures and inanimate objects (a plane is flying, a ball is jumping, a dog is sitting, a snake is crawling).

Task 2

You will need a set of figures and playing fields. Lay out playing fields with verbs known to the child and ovals located under them, which will serve as places for toys. The work is structured as follows: for example, you ask a child: “Who is sitting?”, He answers “the doll is sitting” and puts the doll in the appropriate place. This is how the playing fields are filled.

Task 3

An understanding of the commonality of actions of people, objects, and animals depicted in the pictures is developed. The task differentiates two verbs.

In order to understand how much the child has mastered lexical material (in this case, verbs), Nurieva recommends using tasks with verbal riddles, the implementation of which requires non-verbal voluntary activity from the student.

Task 4

In her technique, Nurieva suggests using double-sided cards, on one side of which pictures of people, animals or objects are depicted, and on the other side are printed verbs that denote the actions in the pictures. It is necessary to lay out the cards in front of the child with the pictures facing up. And then ask him questions based on the pictures. For example: “Who swims and is silent?” The child must answer the question or point to the picture: “Cow.” Then you need to immediately turn the card over and check the answer.

You can download a sample of such cards and use them for classes, or replace verbs (images and texts) if they are not familiar to your child (you can find out how to replace pictures in Word).

Sample Verb Cards

Here is a sample of several cards:

The archive contains 24 cards on verbs:

• barks, guards - a dog,
• swims, is silent - a fish,
• a horse gallops, neighs,
• blooms, grows - a flower,
• jumps, croaks - a frog,
• flies, tweets - a sparrow,
• cackling, pecking - a chicken,
• purrs, scratches - cat,
• squeaks, scratches - a mouse,
• swims, quacks - a duck,
• buzzes, flies - a fly,
• jumping, chirping - a grasshopper,
• hanging, closing - lock,
• cuts, becomes dull - a knife,
• the sun is shining, warming,
• warms up, stands - radiator,
• ticking, ringing - alarm clock,
• the bell rings, shines,
• jumps, deflates - the ball,
• dries, buzzes - hair dryer,
• the locomotive is humming, driving,
• floating, humming - a steamer.

Download verbs and cards for practice.

You can download cards for working using Nurieva’s method 2.

You can download other cards - archive. Continuation

(taken from the article

Chapter 4 of the book “Speech Development in Autistic Children” by L. G. Nurieva describes examples of tasks for working on the structure of a simple sentence. And one of the tasks is to introduce words with the particle “not” that have an antonymous pair (runs - does not run, crawls - does not crawl, jumps - does not jump). I have prepared a set of cards that can be used for several tasks.

Task No. 1 . Place a card with a verb printed in large font in front of the child, and place pictures of animals underneath it. Separately, put a card with the particle NOT, typed in bright color and large font.

Ask the child: does this animal fly (jump/swim, etc.)? If the answer is affirmative, the child must name the affirmative form of the verb - flies (jumps/swims...), if negative - then move the card with the particle “not” to the word and read the antonym. (Non-speaking child use pointing gesture.)

Task 2

You can use synonyms (jumps - jumps, walks - walks).

Lay out several large cards with verbs and pictograms of different meanings, indicating the characteristics of an animal or bird (flies, butts, swims) and displaying the part of the animal’s body with which it performs the action (wings, horns, fins).

Below lay out small cards with images of animals, fish, birds. Ask your child questions based on the pictures: “Who flies?” “Butting?” "Floats?" The child must answer: “The dove is flying.” "The goat is butting." “The fish swims” and place the pictures next to the corresponding pictograms. Then you can practice antonymic options by adding a large card with the particle “not” + a card with the verb: sparrow Not Then you can practice antonymic options by adding a large card with the particle “not” + a card with the verb: sparrow pecks, toad Then you can practice antonymic options by adding a large card with the particle “not” + a card with the verb: sparrow bites, etc. This task will help expand the child’s horizons, draw his attention to the fact that the way birds, fish, and animals act is largely determined by the structural features of their body.

Download pictures to study verbs with the particle “not”

To download pictures of “particles not with verbs”, go to

Imitation using gross motor skills

This video shows several imitation exercises. Before starting an action, you need to attract the child’s attention, and then give instructions: “Do the same.”

Typically, imitation of body movements follows imitation with objects: it is more difficult because it requires the child to remember what you did and then repeat this movement. We start with simple movements, such as clapping our hands, something that many children do spontaneously. In addition, this action makes noise and it is possible to observe how another person continues to perform this action at the same time as the child. We will practice the most complex movements, which are the most difficult to see, below, for example, touching the nose or putting hands on the head will be more difficult because the child cannot see whether he performed the action correctly.

Cunning: Perform the action in front of a mirror if face-to-face imitation fails.

• Giving with both hands
• Giving both feet
• Raise your hands
• Raise your arms to the sides
• Touch your stomach
• Shake a head
• Wave goodbye
• Rubbing hands
• Clap your hands above your head
• Clench your fists
• To point with a finger
• Nod
• Cross your arms over your chest
• Embrace
• Touch your nose (and other parts of your face)
• Scratching my head
• Cover your mouth with your hands
• Tilt your head forward
• Get up/sit down
• Squat down
• Crawl
• Walk on your heels
• Walk on tiptoes, etc.

Simulate complex movements

The video (September 2007) shows Eric and I training praxia exercises (movements performed with a specific end goal). Using a mirror helped a lot.

Due to muscle hypotonicity, Eric continued to drool even at the age of 3 years. At that time he hardly spoke, and the words he spoke were distorted so that they were difficult to understand. To make his articulation clearer, it was necessary to strengthen the facial muscles around the mouth. We begin to perform praxia exercises or articulatory gymnastics, which effectively contribute to the development of facial expressiveness:

• Open your mouth wide and say “AAAAAAAAAAAA”
• Grasp the tip of your tongue with your fingers
• Stick out tongue
• Purse your lips forcefully (pronouncing the sound MMMMM)
• Clatter your teeth
• Laugh
• Snort like a horse (BRRRR)
• Purse your lips tightly
• Puff out your cheeks
• Pretend to kiss (with noise)
• Mimic an Indian scream (BA, BA, BA, BA)
• Touch your upper teeth with your tongue
• Biting your lower lip with your teeth
• Move your tongue left/right
• Move your tongue in a circle
• Take pieces of cookies from your hand, for example, with your mouth
• Suck on boiled spaghetti (this exercise helped Eric learn to drink through a straw)
• Drink through a straw
• Mark the kiss (with painted lips) on paper

Since many of these exercises are difficult for your child to do at first, you need to help him, for example, by moving his lips with his hands, etc., but always do it in a fun way. During such activities, the child needs to be heavily praised, so that there are many toys around that he really likes, use toys with spinning elements, whistle and honk, etc. Sometimes lollipop, yogurt or ice cream work well to force your tongue to stick out.

It also helped us a lot to sit next to each other and look in the mirror.

APPLICATIONS:

ImitationWithobjects Imitación con objetos - El Sonido de la hierba al crecer

ImitationWithusinglargemotor skills Imitación motora gruesa - El sonido de la hierba al crecer

Exercisesonpraxia- articulatorygymnastics Ejercicios de praxias - gimnasia de la boca - El sonido de la hierba al crecer

ImitationHowthe basistrainingatDisordersautisticSpectra- PartIILa imitación como base del aprendizaje en los Trastornos del Espectro del Autismo - Parte II

PartII

16.12.2011

In the previous article, “Imitation as a Foundation for Learning in Autism Spectrum Disorder - Part I,” we saw a series of exercises that are suitable for starting to work on imitation. Having made sure that the child is beginning to make progress, we begin to complicate the tasks. However, it is always good to start with exercises that your child is already good at to “warm up” him before introducing new tasks. If a child is unable to follow instructions on his own, we begin to help him.

The video shows Eric repeating crossover exercises, namely connecting the right side of the body with the left. It was quite difficult to cope with these tasks, but repeated repetitions, as well as a large number of food and various entertainment rewards, led us to new successes. Having mastered the exercises that were offered to him later, Eric discovered the concepts of “left” and “right”, and at the same time he became aware of the parts of his body and improved control over them.

Exact repetition and introduction to laterality.

With these exercises, the child will become more aware of the parts of his body and become familiar with the concept of laterality: that we have a right and a left side of the body.

1. Raise your left hand
2. Raise two hands
3. Raise your right hand
4. Make a pointing gesture with your right hand
5. Say goodbye with your right hand
6. Say goodbye with your left hand
7. Place two hands on your stomach
8. Place your right hand on your stomach
9. Place your left hand on your stomach
10. Extend both hands at once
11. Extend each hand separately
12. Stomp your right foot
13. Stomp your left foot
14. Stomp your right foot twice
15. Stomp your left foot twice
16. Stomp once with each foot
17. Stomp twice with each foot
18. Touch your chin with your thumb
19. Bring both hands together

A series of two exercises. We connect gross motor skills and imitation with objects

1. Applaud and put your fist on the table
2. Drink from a cup and place your palm on the table
3. Touch your nose and stamp your foot on the floor or ground
4. Close your eyes and raise your hands
5. Jump and spin.
6. And so on.

A series of three exercises. We combine fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and imitation with objects.

1. Applaud, hit the table with your fist and touch your nose
2. Stomp your foot, raise your arms, place your palms on your stomach
3. Put the phone to your ear, drink from a cup, hit the table with your fist
4. Wave goodbye, draw a line in the paper, put your hand in your mouth
5. Put on your hat, turn on the light, close the door
6. And so on.

Cross exercises

1. Touch your left shoulder with your right hand.
2. Touch your right shoulder with your left hand.
3. Touch your left knee with your right hand.
4. Touch your right knee with your left hand.
5. Touch your right ear with your left hand.
6. Touch your left ear with your right hand.

Imitation of actions presented in photographs.

You need to prepare photographs that depict actions that the child must repeat. We took a lot of photographs of people Eric knew, depicting an action that he had to repeat. You need to place the photo at eye level, show it to the child and give instructions: “Eric, do the same.”

1. Raise your hands (photo of someone with their hands raised)
2. Applaud
3. Touch your nose
4. Touch your stomach with both hands
5. Put your hands on your head
6. Comb your hair
7. Raise your leg
8. Make a phone call
9. And also all the exercises that we practiced earlier on gross motor skills, imitation of facial expressions and imitation with objects.

Imitation by sample

It is also very important to work on imitation according to the model. Namely, you build something and the child must repeat it. We use Lego, Briobahn train tracks and plastic mosaic tiles which we fix into a panel with holes (Ministeck). I recommend that you prepare the material for work in advance and place it so that the child can reach it. The imitation must be accurate in the number of objects and their location; in simple models, you can even have your child repeat the sequence of colors.

This video (October 2007) shows how Eric imitates a building based on a model from a construction set Lego. In addition to working on imitation, we try to strengthen visual contact. So I show Eric every cube Lego at eye level. Finally, I also ask him, “Do you need this item?” and he should answer, “Yes.”

The next stage of work was imitation based on the samples shown in the photo. Therefore, every time you consider the exercise completed, take a photo of the resulting structure and, based on these photos, you can prepare the following tasks.

We can work, for example, by repeating Lego buildings. To do this, you need to have two platforms for Lego: for yourself and for your child. Also prepare a certain number of parts: one pile for yourself, and another for the child. When the child has repeated your construction, you comment on his actions with clear and understandable phrases: “Okay, this is a tower of 5 Lego cubes,” “Great, it’s a tunnel,” etc.

Using this scheme, you can simulate the construction of towers, bridges, houses, cars, animals, etc.

We also use Ministeck mosaic and Briobahn rails to imitate different models as shown in the photos.

Photo: All rights reserved by Anabel Cornago

Below we show Eric photos with samples that he must repeat according to the instructions “Do the same.” There are many different options here. It's like a game that improves concentration and attention, children really like it and thus encourages them to continue building.

Aprendemos adibujar -Motricidadfina 1

We learn to draw - fine motor skills 2Aprendemosadibujar -Motricidadfina 2

Imitation according to the sample in photographsImitacióndemodelosfotografiados

ImitationHowthe basisprocesstrainingatdisordersautisticspectrum- PartI