Designing a Master's program in speech therapy education in the context of interaction with stakeholders

Introduction. The relevance of the study is due to the need to match the requirements of stakeholders to the level of preparedness of a graduate of a master's degree. The purpose of the research. The research is aimed at the development and scientific substantiation of the master's degree program in the field of speech therapy support for persons with communication disorders of various categories in terms of interaction with stakeholders. Methodology and research methods. The Master's program is based on the principles and provisions of practice-oriented and competence-based approaches that ensure the formation of students ' professional competencies and practical skills in solving real professional problems, both in practical classes and during industrial practice on the basis of stakeholders. The research used methods of design, content analysis, questionnaires, mathematical statistics (descriptive statistics, factor analysis). The results. The mechanism of designing the master's degree program is based on the inclusion of stakeholders in the process of forming professional competencies of graduates, the development of its structure, content and areas of implementation (educational process, scientific work, practice, final qualification work, career guidance). The conducted research with the participation of stakeholders (56 people: speech therapists, speech pathologists, psychologists, rehabilitologists, managers) allowed us to determine the four-factor structure of knowledge, skills and labor actions (professional competencies) necessary for a speech therapist when working with people with communication disorders of various categories: ability to plan and implement the content of correctional and developmental classes (percentage of dispersion – 29.4); the ability to design an adapted basic general education program and a special individual development program (percentage of dispersion – 24.5); the ability to implement speech therapy support in the rehabilitation work system (percentage of dispersion – 18.9); the ability to plan and conduct applied scientific research in education, including the diagnosis of persons with communication disorders of various categories (percentage of dispersion – 7.8). Practical significance. The results obtained can be used by the heads of universities focused on the development of interaction with stakeholders, can help to encourage the introduction of practices and strategies that take into account the influence of stakeholders in the development of management decisions and the organization of effective training of teachers in the master's program. They may be of interest to speech therapists-practitioners, scientific supervisors of master's programs.

The Sense of Smell in Logopaedic Theory and Practice

Olfactory disorders concern many diseases of laryngological, neurological, oncological and gerontological origins, and sometimes are one of the diagnostic symptoms of a serious illness. The aim of this article is to describe the sense of smell (anatomy, physiology, functions, etiology and characteristics of disorders) and, in particular, to present this sense in the context of logopedic theory and practice. Speech therapists may inter alia assess the functioning of the sense of smell on the basis of an interview with the patient or caregiver, make a general evaluation of the functioning of the sense of smell, using different olfactory samples. As part of speech therapy, speech therapists may include stimulation of the sense of smell through various exercises, e.g. odour differentiation exercises, exercises in guessing and naming different odours, exercises in differentiating odour intensity, exercises in searching the source of smell.

A computer program based on spectral analysis for speech correction in children

Insufficient development of speech and poor command of it interferes, in turn, with its perception by ear, even with the help of sound-amplifying equipment, complicates its understanding, comprehension and transmission of information in the process of communication, at least in an elementary form. Today, in different countries of the world, educational aids are being developed - devices and devices that provide children in need of this with filling the deficit of information about sounding speech, complementing the feedback structure by connecting visual perception. We have developed a computer program “Home speech therapists” to improve speech in children after cochlear implant.

Ultrasonographic analysis of coronal fricative phonemes

Compare the tongue contour in different groups (children with typical, atypical phonological development and adults) in the production of fricative children, through ultrasound videos. The six participants were divided in three groups: Group DF - two children with phonological processes anteriorization of fricative (/ʃ/→ [s]), (both with seven years), group DT - two children with typical development of language (eight and nine years old) and group AD - two adults, all speakers of Brazilian Portuguese. The videos of the movement of the tongue in the production of target sounds inserted in the words /'sapo/, /'sika/, /'suko/, /'∫ave/, /'∫ike/ and /'∫uva/ were organized and evaluated by three judges speech therapists with experience in this area, guided in VAS. It has been observed that, for two of the judges, there was a significant difference between the words produced by children with DF and CT when compared with the words in contexts and vowel [i] and [u], and the productions of these children /∫/→[s] and /s/→[s], respectively, but not for words accompanied [a]. When comparing the data of children with DF and AD, there was statistically significant (p-value < 0.05) in the context of vowel [u]. The judges have detected articulatory differences between typical and atypical productions for children, as well as differentiation also as to the production of adults.

How the online games can be used during SLT sessions?/Case study - Octoplay App

This article presents how online games can be used in the speech therapy sesssions with children, having as case study the mobile app OctoPlay. The OctoPlay application combines the speech therapists` approach with technology and meets the needs of children, therapists and parents through the structure of customizable exercises, collaborative environment and other tools included in the application (video model and mirror technique, virtual reality version, automatic progress reports and the possibility to customize the exercises according to the child’s needs). Practical aspects about how Octoplay App can be used are discussed and information about how it can be accessed are detailed.

Valodniecības pētījumu nozīmīgums logopēda profesijā

The study has been carried out within the subproject No. 8 “Latvian Language Acquisition” framework of the National Research Programme “Latvian Language”. The aim of the study is to research and describe the importance of linguistic research results to speech and language therapists. In the course of studying children’s speech in 2019 and 2020 in different cities of Latvia, it was found that children of pre-school age, regardless of their mother tongue, have widespread sound pronunciation disorders, e.g. elision of the sound r (bukāns, tīs) or substitution of the sound with another sound (klāsas, klūze, gjiež). However, minority children speaking in Latvian have additional difficulties pronouncing the sounds that are not present in their native Russian. Frequently, long vowels are pronounced as short vowels, e.g. when asked what it is/they are? (ābols, krūze, šķēres, grāmata, burkāns) and what it does/they do? (ēd) the children answer abols, kruze, šķeres, gramata, burkans ed, etc., because, in their native language, there are only short vowels. The substitution of broad vowel e [ae] with the narrow e, e.g. ed [ed], is caused by the same reason. Pronunciation of the diphthong o [uo] as a long vowel has also been observed, e.g. pōgas (pogas). When children are not sure of the proper ending of a word, they do not pronounce it, e.g. abol (ābols), putn (putni), žiraf (žirafe). The speech studies of minority children also showed a large number of grammatical and vocabulary errors, which affect the development of their language and may, in the future, lead to difficulties and disruptions in the learning of the language, which, in more severe cases, lead to a disruption in the learning of subjects at school. The study results showed that in Latvia, the bilingualism of the minority pre-school children is relative. In general, only children whose families are bilingual or who attend the pre-school education groups with Latvian as the communication language speak well both their native language and Latvian. Observations during the National Research Programme show that speech therapists increasingly face the demand for minority children to learn Latvian as the second language; however, speech therapists do not have information about implementing corrections in such cases. Therefore, research on the characteristics of bilingualism and results of language studies are useful for speech therapists in diagnosing, correcting, and preventing disorders. The speaking and language skills of many minority children of pre-school age are still insufficient to continue successful learning in Latvian or bilingually. There are many phonetical and grammatical errors in their speech, while a poor vocabulary interferes with expressing thoughts and engaging in conversation. Both teachers and speech therapists need modern theoretical and practical training to raise their qualifications and implement a common understanding of the problems. The lessons learned from this project are incorporated into the bachelor’s theses of Marta Jakušina, Valērija Krasovska, and Alise Valtere.

FORMATION OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE OF FUTURE EDUCATORS OF SPEECH THERAPISTS IN THE CONDITIONS OF PEDAGOGICAL COLLEGE: THEORETICAL ASPECT

The article analyzes the regulatory and legal documents that regulate the main components of the professional compliance of teachers and the applicants of professional preliminary education. The works of Ukrainian and foreign scientists, which disclose general issues of the teacher’s professional competence development and factors of future teachers’ competencies developing in the system of higher education. Scientists’ detailed views on the teachers’ communicative competence developing in higher education. The scientists’ views on the future educators’ communicative competence developing of preschool education institutions in higher education are investigated. Particular attention is focused on the communicative competence of future educators of speech therapists – one of the specialities, which requires communicative skills and high professionalism. The issue of preschool teachers’ communicative competence has been covered by scientists in various aspects. At the same time, it should be noted that the issue of developing of communicative competence of future educators of speech therapy groups in pedagogical colleges has been insufficiently studied and requires thorough research. After all, at the present stage, the learning of children with speech defects requires not only the use of special techniques in correctional and developmental work with them but also teachers’ high communicative competence, including educators of speech therapy groups. The essence and characteristics of the concepts of communicative competence of educators of speech therapy groups need further study.

A DISLEXIA NO AMBIENTE ESCOLAR

This article aims to analyze dyslexia, which is a learning disorder, and as such points to the difficulties that the individual presents during the development process of learning Reading and writing, important assumptions for mastering the Portuguese language. It is known that for an adequate treatment of the disorder, professionals from various areas must be involved in this process, such as speech therapists, psychopedagogists, neurologists, ENTs, etc. Another important professional who must be involved in the process of acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary for learning dyslexic children is the teacher. Therefore, directing the theme to the educational universe, we agree that the school has the responsibility to implement strategies that collaborate in the intellectual development of the child who has dyslexia. For this reason, the present work investigated through bibliographical research and analysis of reports on dyslexia, highlighting its characteristics and possible causes.

The Brazilian Phonoaudiology Association Responds to Challenges Brought by COVID-19

Purpose The pandemic created new and urgent challenges to professionals in the field of communication sciences and disorders known as Phonoaudiology in Brazil. The Brazilian Association of Phonoaudiology has the second-largest group of professionals in this field. This article presents actions and projects of the scientific association taken to support clinical and teaching practices in Brazil to face of the challenges posed by the pandemic. In addition, broad strategies were implemented to address the current and future challenges to speech therapists in Brazil. Conclusions The Brazilian Association of Phonoaudiology heard the demands of the phonoaudiologists and reacted quickly using all available resources to face the unprecedented challenges imposed by the pandemic. Immediate and future challenges included being present in the life of the average phonoaudiologist, as a scientific and professional robust network, and enlarging the number of members to represent all of Brazil, a country with geographic, racial, linguistic, and economic complex diversity.