The use of speech therapy massage. Delayed speech development and massage Acupressure for speech development in children

A specialist can diagnose (diagnose) delayed speech development in a child as early as 3-4 years of age. There are many reasons why a child lags behind the norm. All correctional work aimed at overcoming speech development delays should be carried out by different specialists: psychologists, teachers, doctors. Only with coordinated interaction of all professionals can we talk about a positive final result.

A significant role when working with children with speech pathology is given to speech correction. An experienced speech therapist, using special methods and techniques, examines a child with developmental disabilities and plans his further work. This work, as a rule, also includes a special logomassage, since speech therapy massage for mental retardation is an effective means in the fight against the disease.

Basic concepts and requirements for speech therapy massage

High-quality speech therapy massage for delayed speech development gives excellent results in eliminating speech disorders. The number of sessions is calculated individually for each child with mental retardation. Sessions should generally be held daily. In order for a specialist to perform this procedure on a child, he needs to undergo special training - medical courses, and at the same time study in detail the anatomy and physiology of the child’s body, in order to avoid causing injury to him.

Important! It is strictly forbidden for a specialist to perform a massage with jewelry on his hands or affected skin. Nails must be cut, hands clean and warm.

In practice, two types of massage are used:

Type of massage	Features of application
Speech therapy massage	Promotes the normal functioning of muscle tone and improves the functioning of the muscles of the articulatory apparatus.
Neck massage	With the help of a certain effect on the collar zone, it allows you to saturate with oxygen and increase blood circulation in the area of the cerebral cortex that is directly responsible for speech.

Contraindications for use

The procedure is prohibited if one of the following diagnoses is observed:

acute infectious diseases;
fever, chills;
infectious diseases of the skin (herpes, ulcers, dermatitis);
lymphadenitis (inflammation of the lymph nodes);
infectious eye diseases (conjunctivitis);
oral infections (stomatitis, gingivitis);
high/low blood pressure.

Tools in the work of a speech therapist

During the procedure, the specialist can use the following tools for speech therapy massage:

professional vibrating massagers;
massage probes;
hands.

Whatever technology and working tool the speech therapist chooses, one of the first and most important aspects in the specialist’s work is the ability to find contact with the child and relax him.

Massage location

A number of requirements are imposed on the office to carry out the procedure. It should be equipped with everything necessary: children's toys, a couch, a stool and a chair for work. If the procedures are carried out in a hospital, then it is worth removing from the office those things that may frighten the baby (medical instruments, visual aids and materials). The temperature in the treatment room should always be comfortable.

Technology of speech therapy facial massage

In speech correction work with children, speech therapists, along with traditional forms and techniques, also use speech therapy facial massage. Classic massage for children with speech delay is performed with hands. Four main techniques are used in behavior:

stroking,
trituration,
kneading,
vibration.

Its implementation consists of performing manipulations on different areas of the face:

cheeks,
chin.

Each movement is repeated 8-10 times.

Forehead massage

Produced as follows:

Action	What it does	Notes
Stroking movements	Palm	From the middle of the forehead to the temporal part.
Kneading movements	Hand
Vibration	Hand or vibration massager	From the eyebrows to the top of the forehead.

Cheek massage

The next step will be massaging the cheeks. During execution, kneading and stretching movements are used. They are performed from the corners of the mouth up to the temples in the direction of the cheek muscles. Then they move on to light stroking from the cheekbones to the bottom of the jaw.

Nose massage

Mouth massage

At the next stage, the specialist massages the mouth. To do this, stroke and stretch the skin from the middle of the upper lip, smoothly moving to the corners of the mouth. Similar actions are carried out for the lower lip. Type of movement – stroking, rubbing and vibration.

Chin massage

The procedure ends with massaging the chin. To do this, they use stroking and kneading technologies with movements from the chin to the corner of the mouth. Type of movement – stroking and kneading.

A high-quality procedure is overcoming a painful step on the path to overcoming speech pathology.

Massage of the collar area for a child with RRR

Scientists have long proven the relationship between the collar region and the communication function (speech function). The cervical-collar region is not only the neck, it consists of many other components, namely:

cervical vertebrae area,
back of the neck,
upper muscles of the shoulder girdle,
lateral surface of the neck,
supraclavicular fossa.

Knowing the structure of the collar zone and the mechanisms of action, with the correct technology of manipulation, you can get a good result. It is this type of procedure that helps bring speech skills closer to normal and ensures the full functioning of the nervous system. Massage for a child with mental retardation should be done in order to directly stimulate the speech areas of the brain.

Speech delay - massage of the collar zone, technology for its implementation

As soon as the child is completely relaxed and the master is convinced that his condition is satisfactory, then massage of the collar area can begin for ZRR. He is placed on the couch with his back up, his arms are extended along his body. Children with RDD who have scoliosis have their heads turned in the opposite direction to the curvature. Next, the manipulations described in the table below are performed.

Action	What it does	Note
Light stroking from top to bottom	Palm	Without affecting the spine area.
Stroking from top to bottom	Palm	Without affecting the spine area. The pressure increases.
Trituration	3 phalanges of fingers
Squeezing	3 phalanges of fingers	The trapezius muscle is actively massaged.
Kneading	Hand	The upper back and shoulder joints are worked.

The first sessions begin with 15 minutes, and subsequently increase the time to 25 minutes. When performed correctly, the baby should not feel pain. Therefore, massage for RRR of the collar zone should be protected from strong rubbing and kneading in order to avoid pain in the cervical segment.

Important! Massage for a child with speech delay is accompanied by a conversation between the speech therapist and the child, and it is important to use every minute and encourage the child to talk and develop communication skills.

Massage course

To get a good result, the specialist prescribes a whole course of massage of the collar area for cervical cancer. This is a minimum of 20 sessions and it is possible to increase their number. After 1.5 - 2 months this course can be repeated.

Positive dynamics are noticeable after just a few procedures. Thus, children with mental retardation, who have signs of hyperactivity, become calmer after the procedure, and their general well-being improves. This type of procedure will help a child with mental retardation not only quickly cope with speech impairments, but also improve it.

Video

Often this is the request parents make to speech therapists at a rehabilitation center. In the minds of many people, speech therapy massage has a miraculous effect. Is speech therapy massage really necessary for all children? We'll figure out!

Is speech therapy massage necessary for everyone?

You need to understand that speech therapy massage is not a harmless procedure. Firstly, he has contraindications. Secondly, sensations during speech therapy massage are not the most pleasant. From what has been said, it is already clear that it should not be prescribed to everyone and “just in case,” but only if necessary.

indicated for certain articulatory motor disorders, that is, when the mobility of the muscles of the tongue, cheeks, lips, as well as facial muscles is impaired.

dysarthria - disorders of the innervation of the muscles of the speech apparatus in children or adults (after a stroke).
rhinolalia;
mechanical dyslalia (short hypoglossal ligament).

Before scheduling a massage, specialist, speech therapist or neurologist, conducts special examination mobility of articulatory organs. It also checks for any contraindications to massage.

Contraindications to speech therapy massage

Contraindications to massage are:

presence of convulsions, convulsive readiness in the anamnesis!
epilepsy;
feverish condition;
acute inflammatory processes;
nosebleeds and tendency to them;
conjunctivitis (inflammation of the connective membrane of the eyes);
various diseases of the skin and scalp (infectious, fungal and unknown etiology);
diathesis and other allergic reactions;
stomatitis or other oral infections;
herpes on the lips;
swollen lymph nodes;
nausea, vomiting;
excessive physical or mental fatigue.

Questionable cases of prescribing speech therapy massage.

Speech therapy massage is often prescribed for children, motor alalia, and even autism. That is, in cases where the child does not have a violation of tone, and in general the innervation of the muscles of the speech apparatus. What, in this case, they want to correct with the help of speech therapy massage is not entirely clear.

Massage can help when it comes to correcting sound pronunciation (if the child distorts the sounds of his native language). If there is no speech, then the child will not speak from logomassage.

In the case of non-speaking children, reference is made to activation through massage of certain areas of the brain associated with speech. You need to understand that this correction method must be taken along with non-traditional methods, for example, acupuncture.

Perhaps this approach will bring some benefits in combination with other methods. However, it cannot be used as the main one or even one of the main ones.

Unfortunately, it is not so rare that speech therapists make speech therapy massage difficult for children in terms of correction only because they do not really understand what they really need to do with them.

Speech therapy massage is especially popular in clinics. Moreover, the procedure is significant in the eyes of parents. Of the 20 minutes of class, 15 are spent on massage.

It is also inappropriate to do a speech therapy massage without following it directly with articulatory/facial gymnastics or sound production. Speech therapy massage allows you to prepare articulatory organs for subsequent work. For example, a child has impaired lip mobility. A massage of the lip area is performed, followed immediately by passive and active gymnastics for the lips (necessary for the formation of the pattern of certain sounds).

By analogy with muscles: before the main load there is a “warm-up”. If you only warm up for 15 sessions, without the main training, then after such a “course” there is unlikely to be any progress.

Speech therapy massage is voluntary!

For some reason, the child may not be emotionally ready for a massage. For example, a child already has negative associations with any medical procedures (injections, doctor’s examinations, etc.), or the child does not want an unfamiliar aunt to get into his mouth. After all, massage can be painful, especially for people with a low pain threshold.

In this case, the speech therapist tries to prepare the child and establish contact. But if this does not work out, you should not force a massage.

If you are consoled by the fact that the child will cry for 15 minutes, but there will be an undoubted effect on speech, then I dare to assure you that it will be exactly the opposite. There will definitely be no benefit, but the harm can be different: even greater distrust of parents, speech therapists and classes.

For speech therapy massage to benefit a child, it should not be performed against his will! No way! If the child resists, he tenses up, which means it is impossible to carry out a quality massage.

Miracle massage

There is always a temptation to look for a “magic button”, when pressed, all problems with speech will disappear for the child (and it would also be good for both behavior and health...). Speech therapy massage can be of great help to us, but it is just one of the tools that will work well if used correctly, and not “solo”, but in combination with other methods of speech development.

After all, it is often not only a violation of the mobility of the articulatory organs that is to blame for the fact that a child’s speech is incomprehensible to others. Simultaneously There may be underdevelopment of phonemic hearing, and violations of the syllabic structure of the word, and the grammatical structure of speech.

That's why it's so important a systematic approach to correcting speech and general development!

If problems with the tone of the articulatory organs in a child are pronounced, it may be worth supplementing the speech therapy massage with a general massage aimed at normalizing the general muscle tone.

If your child is prescribed speech therapy massage...

Try to find out in detail why the massage is prescribed (what exactly the child is not doing right now in terms of articulation - lifting the tongue, pulling the lips into a tube, etc.), why (what exactly we want to achieve with the help of massage), what kind of massage will be performed ( relaxing or activating), whether it will be accompanied by articulatory gymnastics and/or production of specific sounds.

If the massage is not prescribed to solve specific problems, it is better to refuse the procedure. Even if it's free. And spend the freed time on activities that are more necessary for the development of your child’s speech.

Also make sure that the specialist did not miss the presence of any of the above contraindications in the child.

If the appointment of logomassage is advisable, and it will be carried out by a qualified speech therapist, listen to his recommendations. You may need to duplicate certain articulatory gymnastics exercises at home.

As responsible parents, you must understand that intellectual health should be given as much attention as physical health. The ability to speak correctly and beautifully, to express thoughts correctly depends directly on how much you are willing to invest in your child.

In order to prevent speech therapy problems, as well as to eliminate them, you can master hand massage for children to develop speech, which will become your baby’s favorite pastime.

There are many ways to develop speech. Few people trust massage, as they consider it more fun than therapeutic. And in vain. Scientists have long proven that stimulating certain points on a child’s palms can work wonders. The sooner you start working on developing hand motor skills, the sooner your baby will speak and learn to think.

There is an opinion that a seven-month-old toddler should be able to show at least one finger from his fist (most often it is the index or thumb). In this case, he should not have problems with speech. Light stroking of the hands should be carried out from birth.

What is it for:

the mood of a newborn noticeably improves after tactile contact with relatives;
he calms down and relaxes;
blood circulation improves;
the skin becomes softer.

The baby begins to “feel” his fingers and learns to control them.

How effective is it?

Even primitive people used their hands to communicate. With the advent of speech, gestures help add clarity to what is being said. Psychoneurologists claim that a strong connection between pronunciation and gestures has been preserved in the cerebral cortex. Improvements in pronunciation after exposure to hands were noticed back in the 19th century.

Children with developed hand motor skills have a large vocabulary, strong memory and pronounce sounds more clearly even in their formative years.

It is enough to spend 15 minutes a day to see the result.

Execution technique

Talk to your pediatrician. He will recommend suitable exercises. Regular massage can be carried out starting from three months. If there are no problems with neuralgia, the procedure will be reduced to light stroking, kneading the fingers, rubbing and pinching them.

Before carrying out the procedure, be sure to wash your hands with soap or disinfect with alcohol. Take a few drops of baby oil and rub them on your palms. Firstly, it will soften them before contact with the baby’s skin, and secondly, it will warm them up a little. Hands must be warm.

Closer to six months, you can add small items: balls, rubber rings, pencils, terry towel.

Techniques that are optimal for manipulating hands:

stroking fingers from top to bottom;
rubbing in a spiral;
rotating the brush clockwise and counterclockwise;
pressing on the pads;
alternate bending of fingers.

Be sure to finish the procedure with a pleasant stroking of your palms.

Passive massage techniques

Massaging movements should be performed by an adult.

How to do passive exercises and what techniques are suitable?

Snail - kneading the palm in a spiral from the edges to the center.
Blizzards - zigzag movements on the palms and fingers.
Spider - “sawing” the palm from top to bottom and diagonally.
Magpie-crow - tapping on the palm and bending the fingers.

Techniques of active influence

Having mastered passive games, involve the child himself in the actions.

The following exercises are suitable:

Vegetable garden - one hand extends the fingers of the opposite hand, as if it wants to harvest.
Balls - roll a round object using your palms. You can take pimply rubber and plastic balls.
Ironing - one hand strokes the palm of the other.
Helicopter - using a pencil, imitate the movement of the propeller on your hand.
Catch up - ask your fingers to run over your palm.

It’s great if, when doing the exercises, you use rhyming lines or short poems. As a last resort, emotionally describe each action. The little one will definitely love this. Such techniques are suitable for violations of diction and pronunciation of any complexity.

Interesting variations of finger gymnastics

It is difficult for an older child to sit still during even short-term manipulations. Perform actions in the form of a fun game.

What can you use?

A fairy tale with the help of hands. Imagine that each finger is a hero from your favorite fairy tale. Let the character speak his words. Fingers can also stomp wonderfully on a flat surface. You can play shadow theater with your palms. Experiment, these games do not require special skills.
We take paper. Crafts made from paper balls will interest any little genius. You can use them as parts of a snowman or even toss them from hand to hand. Ask your fidget to hit a paper ball into a plastic cup or bucket. This game is useful for developing coordination and helps stimulate speech.
Healthy cereal. Place any cereal on a large tray. Most often they take buckwheat or semolina, but you can choose any of your choice. Draw on the rump with your fingers to make your baby feel like a real artist.

Any manipulations should take place in a good mood among all family members. Do not perceive it as a complex medical procedure and you will definitely succeed. And your baby will soon delight you with clever sayings.

Hand massage for child speech development video

Today, unfortunately, many children suffer from speech impediments, some are even diagnosed with various disorders. Speech therapy massage for children not only accompanies the correct production of sounds, but is also a powerful stimulant for children to begin speaking. After all, the muscle tone of newborns affects future speech. Therefore, with the help of massage, facial muscles and tissues relax, which forms correct speech.

Benefit

Combining visits to a speech therapist and massage will be productive and beneficial.

The adjustment includes the following tasks:

there is a correction of sounds that are difficult for the child, and therefore they do not correspond to the norm, this can be the replacement of hissing or letters L and R, G and D;
bringing speech breathing indicators to normal is necessary if the child’s pronunciation is incorrectly formed due to improper breathing;
reduction of emotional stress;
correction of stuttering, dysarthria, rhinolalia, voice disorders;
increased tone of facial muscles if the child uses little effort when pronouncing sounds;
reduction of increased salivation;
work on the articulatory apparatus;
strengthening the pharyngeal reflex when speaking and improving the condition of the voice - for medical reasons.

All this, with the right approach and systematization, leads to high-quality results.

Indications for the procedure

The first and most important indication, if you take your child to a speech therapist - consolidate the result. Speech therapy massage will speed up the pronunciation process, this is important for children whose speech lags behind their peers.
Weak or, on the contrary, increased tone of the facial muscles.
Stuttering - the child repeats syllables in a word or cannot pronounce the word completely, becoming fixated on one part. Often this affects children who are frightened, have experienced a strong shock, or are simply indecisive kids.
Voice disorder – the child gets tired of speaking b, does it quietly and complains of pain and sore throat, a feeling of “lump” and heaviness when speaking.
Dysarthria. Violation, rather, psychological than articulatory. Due to various mental disorders, the child cannot speak correctly.
Increased salivation It is also an indication for massage; it indicates weak muscles not only of the face, but also of the tongue.
Children with cerebral palsy.

However, it is not always possible to do speech therapy massage.

It is contraindicated for skin diseases of the face, lips and mouth (rash, herpes, stomatitis, viral infections, gingivitis, throat diseases, inflammation of the lymph nodes, as well as conjunctivitis and boils).

All of them will bring pain and discomfort, due to which a child, even in a healthy state, may refuse to exercise.

Varieties

It’s no secret that to develop speech you need to work not only with the speech apparatus, because everything in the human body is interconnected.

Massage for the tongue. It is first necessary to relax the jaw muscles, neck and shoulder muscles so that the root of the tongue relaxes. If touching the tongue causes spasm and a gag reflex, then the massage is limited only to the tip of the tongue in the baby’s mouth, gradually increasing the distance and forcing the tongue to extend longer.
Lip massage. All movements are repeated at least 50 times and very gently.
Neck massage. Performed before meals or after passing 2 hours from eating.
Ear massage. Stimulates the articulatory apparatus.
Hand massage. Each finger is responsible for a specific organ, so this massage is effective not only for speech. The thumb is the brain, the index finger is the stomach, the middle finger is the spine, intestines, the ring finger is the liver, the little finger is the heart. It is better to start with a finger massage, gradually increasing the area of manipulation.
Massage with spoons. Requires careful handling.

Conditions for holding

Ideally, speech therapy massage is prescribed by a medical specialist. However, not everyone has the opportunity to visit it, so light exercises can be done at home on your own. First, you need to create favorable conditions - peace and quiet so that the child is not distracted. The room should be bright and ventilated. The massager's hands are warm and clean.

The first lesson is no more than five minutes; the child should get used to the procedure, which is unusual for him. At first, the massage should be no more than 10 minutes; after a week, the time can be increased to 25-30 minutes. The time varies depending on age: the smallest children can only withstand 10 minutes, preschoolers up to 15-20, but schoolchildren can fully endure 25 minutes.

Classes should be systematized, approximately 2-3 times a week; the smaller the gap between classes, the higher the effectiveness. However, daily repetition can also lead to rejection.

For massage, you should purchase massage oil or plant oils, having first checked them for an allergic reaction. To avoid infections, use gloves and a mask, this is important especially for infants. You may also need ammonia in case of loss of consciousness, which happens extremely rarely.

Technique at home

Many people believe that a mother will not be able to cope with speech disorders at home. However, this is a big misconception. All speech therapists talk about the need to practice at home, otherwise it is difficult to consolidate the results obtained from each lesson.

It is better to start massaging from the entire face, which will relieve hypertonicity and general tension of the baby. Starting from the forehead, gradually stroke down to the chin. The movements are soft, from the center of the face to the edge, horizontally. Forehead - temples, eyebrows - hairline, eyelids, cheeks - from nose to ear, from lips to ear. You can repeat them 2-3 times.

If the child is uncomfortable or simply doesn’t want to, then you should limit yourself to light stroking, gradually moving on to the complex.

Language

Performed from the tip of the tongue to its root.

Grabbing the end of the tongue, you need to move it up and down, left and right, back and forth.
Stroking the tongue with your thumb, and you need to support it from below, movements are made from the center, in a circle or longitudinally.
Stroking the top and bottom of the tongue with your thumb and middle finger.
Creating vibration. Gently rock the tongue, tap lightly with your finger.
Massage the frenulum of the tongue with up and down movements.
Use a cloth of different texture to stroke your tongue.
We use a soft toothbrush, brushing it along the tongue and drawing out the letters.

Without preparation, these exercises are not so easy to do. Many training videos for tongue massage will help beginners.

Another important condition is that the child must control salivation; if this turns out poorly, you can put a napkin under the tongue and change it as it gets wet.

Lips

This also includes the chin and nasolabial fold.

Rubbing lips with fingers.
We move our fingers in a circular motion from one corner to another.
We massage both lips in opposite directions, the upper one to the left, the lower one to the right and change direction.
Tingling of lips and surrounding area.
Pressing on the lips with circular movements.
Light finger spanks.

This complex is repeated several times in one session.

Hands

The fingers and the entire surface of the palm are worked on separately. The fingers are massaged from tip to base. It's best to start with the little finger.

Massaging your fingers, pressing on the pads, increasing the pressure.
The poem “The White-sided Magpie”, familiar from childhood, will help you work out your entire palm. Offer your child self-massage in verse.
Draw a spiral on your palm with your finger, from the center to the edge.
Stock up on a rubber ball with spikes (su-jok) and roll it over the baby’s palm, invite him to roll it between his palms. You can also use a special “Hedgehog” brush to work on nerve endings.
Pour cereal of different sizes into a plate and dip your fingers into it.

Neck

Turns and tilts the neck left and right, back and forth.
Head torsion.
Massaging the Adam's apple area with gentle strokes.
Massage the cervical spine with light patting of the fingers.

Ears

Rub from top to earlobe and back (5 times).
Pulling the lobe down.
Massage the tragus of the ear with light pressure and circular movements.
Massage the back of the ear with rubbing movements (30 seconds).

You can massage one ear at a time, and then both ears at the same time.

Massage with spoons

This massage requires two spoons. The size depends on the age of the child. For babies, it is better to use baby silicone and plastic spoons.

The convex part of the spoons is used to stroke the upper and lower lips.
Circular movements on the lips.
Use the tip of a spoon to gently press on the nasolabial fold.
Scrape both lips with a spoon.
Massage the chin and cheeks using the convex part in a circular motion.
The same massage of the temples and eyes - along the eyelid and back under the eyes.
Rubbing the space between the eyebrows and cheekbones.

It is important to finish the massage complex gently and carefully so that the child receives only positive emotions from the procedure and does not refuse in the future.

Massage at home gives positive results. This can be seen not only by reading reviews from satisfied mothers, but also by listening to the competent opinion of speech therapists. Many note that the first results become noticeable after 4-5 sessions. In children with severe disabilities, the dynamics are noticeable after 7-8 lessons.

Speech therapy massage at home copes well with many speech disorders. The main thing is to be persistent in this matter and not interrupt the sessions.

To learn how to properly perform speech therapy massage at home, watch the following video.