Tachylalia, bradylalia, stumbling. Etiology and symptoms of these speech disorders, ways to overcome them.

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Tachylalia, or accelerated speech rate, is a neuropsychiatric disorder and often manifests itself against the background of a primary disease - nervous or mental.
A speech disorder is accompanied by repetitions of words, “swallowing” of endings, hesitations, and incorrect pronunciation of words or syllables. Children who are excitable, hyperactive, or diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) are especially susceptible to it. Therefore, the diagnosis and treatment of tachylalia is approached comprehensively. It is necessary, first of all, to identify and eliminate the cause of the disease - this is the only way to achieve good results. Otherwise, the disease can remain with the person for life and create many difficulties.

Classification of speech impairment by type of tachylalia

Normally, a person speaks 10 - 12 sounds per second, with an accelerated rate of speech - up to 30.

There are 3 forms:

1. Clean . The child speaks at an accelerated pace, but without grammatical, phonetic, or lexical errors;
2. Battarism , or paraphasia. The child “chokes” and cannot finish the sentence he has started. This occurs due to impaired speech breathing. In some cases, children construct lexical constructions incorrectly;
3. Poltern , or stumbling. In this case, there are too many hesitations and pauses in the child’s speech, he cannot find the right words, repeats words or syllables that have already been spoken, and it is difficult for him to express his thoughts.

In addition, there are several types of polternes with different disorders: motor (in this case, the child not only speaks quickly, but also pronounces sounds incorrectly), sensory (auditory attention is impaired), with difficulties in selecting words and formulating speech.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis of speech disorders is made by a neurologist and psychiatrist. A full neurological examination is required; if focal symptoms are detected, a neuroimaging examination is performed. It is also advisable in all cases to conduct an EEG to exclude epileptiform activity.

The state of speech function can be assessed by a speech therapist. At the same time, the state of speech motor skills and features of expressive speech are noted. They also pay attention to the patient’s placement of stress, the construction of pauses, and the task of writing, reading, and rewriting texts is assessed.

Diagnosis is generally aimed at differentiating ambiguous forms of tachylalia from logoneurosis (stuttering) and dysarthria.

Causes of speech disorders

The causes and mechanisms of tachylalia are based on psychogenic and somatic factors, as well as habit. At risk are children with an unbalanced psyche, hyperactive, and easily excitable.

If one of your immediate blood relatives is diagnosed with tachylalia, the risk of developing it in your child increases.

The development of the disease can be triggered by a brain tumor, traumatic brain injury, neuroinfection or mental disorder - schizophrenia, for example.

A social factor cannot be excluded - mistakes in raising a child, when he is encouraged to imitate the fast speech of adults.

Correction and treatment

Correction of tachylalia can take from 3 months to 1 year. In case of severe organic pathologies, it is possible that complete recovery is impossible. Neurologists, psychotherapists, and psychiatrists are involved in correction.

Medicines are taken only as prescribed by a doctor. The prescriptions themselves depend on the underlying pathology. For neurological diseases, nootropics (Ceraxon, Cavinton, Alphacholine, Cerebrolysin, Cerepro), B vitamins, muscle relaxants (Baclofen) are used. For epilepsy, regimens from various groups of anticonvulsants are selected (Lamotrigine, Depakine, Carbamazepine, Zeptol).

For mental pathologies, a treatment regimen is selected, which may consist of antidepressants, anti-anxiety and antipsychotic drugs. Psychotherapy sessions are important to help you adapt to social life.

Patients are prescribed physical therapy, physiotherapy, and balneotherapy. Neurosedative massage is also performed, which leads to deep relaxation of the body. The procedure calms patients and has a positive effect on well-being in cases of depression.

The speech therapist teaches the patient special exercises. For tachylalia, specialists prescribe speech gymnastics and play recordings of normal speech rates for patients. Patients must imitate and repeat words and sentences. Group therapy sessions may be used. Speech therapy rhythm exercises show good results.

Children develop their thinking by forcing them to retell texts according to plan, while maintaining a normal speech rate. The speech therapist can begin a phrase or sentence, and the patient must finish it. Children are monitored throughout the year, as tachylalia can recur.

Symptoms of tachylalia in children

The most characteristic symptoms can be divided into several groups:

1. Features of speech. She is very fast and inarticulate, making her extremely difficult to understand. It is dominated by repetitions, “swallowing” of endings, and rearrangement of syllables;

2. Reading and writing skills. Patients with tachylalia have difficulty in this area;

3. Features of general motor skills. The movements are rapid, nervous, the child is fussing;

4. Problems with attention and memory. The child quickly switches attention, cannot concentrate on one thing, has poor memory;

5. Reactions of the autonomic nervous system. If a child is excited, his face turns red, his heart rate increases, and he sweats.

These symptoms are a reason to show the child to a neurologist.

Symptoms

Tachylalia in children can be diagnosed based on speech and non-speech signs. The first include:

• expressiveness of speech;
• hesitation when speaking;
• speech breathing disorders;
• pronunciation of more than 20 sounds per second (the norm is no more than 12);
• repeated repetition of phonemes and words;
• omission of sounds, distortion of phonemes;
• violation of intonation;
• absence of logical pauses between words and phrases;
• articulatory motor skills;
• impairment of written speech;
• difficulties in learning to read;
• easier pronunciation of small sentences;
• impaired coordination of the speech apparatus;
• discrepancy between internal and external speech.

Non-speech symptoms include:

• motor restlessness;
• active gestures;
• sleep disorders;
• hyperactivity;
• disorientation;
• low level of concentration;
• violations of all types of memory;
• lack of consistency and logical thinking;
• autonomic disorders of various etiologies (sweating, excitability, increased heart rate).

Comprehensive diagnosis of the disease

Several specialists take part in the diagnosis of the disease - a neurologist, a psychiatrist, a speech therapist.

A neurologist assesses the neurological status of a small patient, and a psychiatrist identifies mental abnormalities.

Before a child is diagnosed, extensive testing is performed to determine organic causes of tachylalia. For this use:

1. Hardware diagnostics - MRI of the brain, electroencephalography (EEG), echoencephalography (Echo-EG);
2. Diagnostics of speech - oral, written.

Based on the data obtained during the diagnosis, the little patient is diagnosed and prescribed a treatment regimen.

Disorders associated with impaired speech rate

Associated symptoms depend on the underlying pathology that caused tachylalia. With mental disorders, patients are characterized by mood swings (from apathy to euphoria), delusional ideas, visual and auditory hallucinations. Such patients can cause harm to themselves.

The range of associated neurological disorders is wide. Patients may experience the following symptoms:

• paresis or paralysis of the limbs;
• increased muscle tone;
• the occurrence of violent (uncontrolled movements) - tremor, hyperkinesis;
• gait disturbances, the most common concern is unsteadiness when moving;
• decreased memory, attention, criticism;
• with tumors, patients may experience headaches, disturbances in vision, swallowing, and smell.

Epilepsy is always accompanied by convulsive seizures of varying frequency, while TBI is accompanied by any neurological symptoms (listed above). With congenital diseases, mental retardation of varying severity may be observed.

An integrated approach to treatment

Correction of tachylalia is also approached in a comprehensive manner. Here are the areas in which doctors work:

1. Medical impact. This group includes: drug therapy, exercise therapy, massage;
2. Psychotherapy. Body-oriented therapy and art therapy are considered the most effective;
3. Speech therapy correction of tachylalia. Group classes give the best results.

Only a combination of the listed approaches gives positive dynamics. Next, we will consider the techniques that are used to correct tachylalia in children.

Breathing gymnastics: a set of exercises

It is important to count when doing exercises. First, the adult does this, and after a while, the child himself does it.

Exercise one. Inhale for 1 – 2 – 3, then pause for a count of 1 and exhale also for 1 – 2 – 3. Inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth. In one approach, the child does from 4 to 6 cycles. Repeat the exercise several times a day.

Exercise two. The child takes a step and inhales, another step and exhales, and pauses on the third step. Perform one approach for no longer than 3 minutes. Do the exercise several times a day, at home or on the street.

Exercise three. The child inhales deeply, exhales for at least 4 seconds and pronounces the consonants. It is important not to puff out your cheeks; repeat each letter at least 4 times.

Logorhythmics - learning to speak slowly

All exercises to correct tachylalia must be done slowly - this is the only way they will be effective. Duration - from 3 to 5 minutes.

Exercise one. The child claps his hands once and says a word for each clap. This could be the name of a city, a fruit, a vegetable—the groups are selected randomly, depending on the child’s knowledge and age.

Exercise two. The baby walks and counts. While counting, he says one word - as in the first exercise, this can be the name of anything. It is not so much the meaning of what is said that is very important, but the slow and clear pronunciation of each word.

Exercise three. This exercise is good to do at home. Parents scatter toys around the room and give the baby a bucket. He walks around and collects toys in it. First, he takes the toy in his hands, clearly and slowly names it and puts it in the bucket.

Music therapy: developing a sense of rhythm

What, if not music, contributes to the development of a sense of rhythm? Speech therapists actively use rhythmic music in their classes. It improves the functioning of the brain and its connections with the body. As a result, children's attention improves, they cope better with stress and express their thoughts.

Interactive metronome - modern technology

Another technique that is used in working with children with speech disorders, mental retardation and other diagnoses. A metronome stimulates brain activity, as a result of which it better processes information coming from outside. As a result, the child’s behavioral reactions stabilize, he learns to plan his activities, and his neurodynamics improve.

Accepting a slow speech rate

Here are some options for tasks for children:

• an adult plays an audio recording with text at a slow pace. The child listens to it and retells it just as slowly;
• the adult slowly pronounces the phrase, then repeats it just as slowly with the baby;
• singing at a slow tempo.

Exercises to correct tachylalia can be repeated several times a day for a maximum of 5 minutes.

Working with text: task options

You can work with text in several directions.

First, ask your child to slowly tell a story or tale.

Secondly, the adult tells the child a few words, from which he must make a sentence with meaning.

Here are some exercises for little patients who can read. For example, a child is given a text that he must then retell. You can also read to the beat, loudly, or, conversely, to yourself. A regular conversation in the form of a question and answer, listening to images of correct speech, is effective.

Corrective work lasts from six months to a year.

Characteristics and symptoms of battarism and polternism

Battarism is a pathology in which an increased rate of speech alternates with jerky pauses for breathing.
Individual words are often distorted or misunderstood, phrases are distorted, syllables and words are missed. The main speech symptoms of battarism:

• rearranging or removing words from a sentence;
• incorrect thought formation;
• rearrangement of letters or syllables in a word;
• discrepancy between the rhythm of speech and the speed of thinking.

Non-speech symptoms:

• possible silent movement of the lip and tongue;
• characterized by diction and breathing disorders;
• writing is disrupted (substitutions and omissions are typical);
• attention is unstable;
• uncriticality (a person may not notice a speech defect at all);
• logical thinking is reduced;
• scattered thoughts are noted.

Polterns are characterized by non-convulsive disturbances in the tempo of accelerated speech (pauses, hesitations). At first glance it looks very similar to stuttering, but there are significant differences. When stumbling (poltern), children do not see their own defect, but when stuttering, they are aware of it and are very embarrassed. Attention to the speech of stuttering children leads to deterioration, and children with tachylalia begin to speak better. Lack of attention leads to the opposite result in each case. Their handwriting is also different: children who stutter draw out their words, while children with the pathology battarism or polternism compress their words.

Characteristic symptoms

• speech

• hesitations, spontaneous pauses;
• incorrect formation of sounds, nasal tone of speech;
• permutations, repetitions of letters and syllables;
• increased emotionality;
• When writing, letters and syllables are also replaced and rearranged.

• non-speech:

• impaired coordination and motor skills;
• lack of cognitive interests;
• inability to concentrate;
• decreased auditory, visual and motor memory;
• when excited, redness of the skin, sweating of the hands and face, and tachycardia are observed.

Poltern shapes:

• 1st - motor disorders (determined by accelerated speech and disruptions in the articulation of sounds);
• 2nd - sensory disorders (lack of auditory attention);
• 3rd - difficulty finding the right words;
• 4th - stumbling - spontaneous stops, stretching of vowels, unfounded exclamations.

With pathologies such as battarism and polternism, children are distinguished by a poor vocabulary, disorders of diction, breathing, and changes in voice timbre. Children cannot remember what they read or hear. When writing: as they speak, so they write.

Prevention of tachylalia in children

The development of a speech disorder can be prevented by a careful and responsible attitude towards the child’s health - ensuring his safety in order to avoid traumatic brain injuries and infections. It is also important to visit your pediatrician regularly to promptly diagnose possible problems - brain tumors, mental or nervous disorders.

Preventive measures also include timely treatment of identified diseases, including injuries. As well as correction of behavioral disorders, poor memory, hyperactivity.

It is important that parents do not turn a blind eye to the baby’s health problems, hoping that “it will go away on its own.”

Forecasts of tachylalia in children

Only the attending physician can tell what results and when you can expect. This depends on many factors - the severity of the speech disorder, the general health of the baby, the timeliness of correction and the efforts made by the parents and the child himself (including work at home).

If parents pay enough attention to the child, work with him, and follow all the doctor’s instructions for developing speech skills, then the prognosis is more than positive. The main thing is not to be lazy and follow all the specialist’s recommendations.

Correcting a speech disorder is a difficult and long journey, but it is necessary to go through it for the sake of your child’s future. Otherwise, the disease can cause social and personal problems, including depression.

Tips for teachers on working with children suffering from poultern and battarism

When planning classes with problem children, it is advisable to give preference to the following forms of work:

• Retelling a passage of text, reciting with and without gestures, telling a story, reading texts in roles, reading a phrase one word at a time, exercises for expressive speech, reading through a slot.
• Interactive games to develop logical thinking and come up with options for plot situations.
• Exercises to overcome inner speech defects, answers to questions, drawing up an answer plan, mathematical problems, tests.
• Development of auditory attention: memorization of heard proverbs, quatrains, and later - small passages in prose.
• Work on the tempo of speech: movements under the count, counting accompanied by movement; pronouncing syllables with tapping, reading with a metronome.

Of course, working with a speech therapist will bring results much faster. However, parents do not always have the opportunity to find a specialist. Don't despair. If the child does not have serious health problems, then parents can try to correct the speech rate themselves. We strongly recommend contacting specialists .