Today, unfortunately, many children suffer from speech impairments, some are even diagnosed with various impairments. Speech therapy massage for children accompanies not only the correct formulation of sounds, but is also a powerful stimulant to the beginning of babies' speaking. After all, the muscle tone of newborns affects future speech. Therefore, with the help of massage, the facial muscles and tissues are relaxed, which forms the correct speech.
Benefit
Combining speech therapy and massage visits 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 may be the replacement of hissing or letters L and R, G and D;
- bringing the speech breathing indicators to normal is necessary if the child's pronunciation is incorrectly formed due to improper breathing;
- decrease in emotional stress;
- correction of stuttering, dysarthria, rhinolalia, voice disorders;
- an increase in facial muscle tone if the child uses little effort when pronouncing sounds;
- reduction of increased salivation;
- work on the articulation apparatus;
- strengthening the pharyngeal reflex when speaking and improving the state of the voice - for medical reasons.
All this, with the right approach and systematization, leads to a quality result.
Indications for the procedure
- The first and most important indication, if you take your child to a speech therapist - consolidation of the result. Speech therapy massage will speed up the pronunciation process, this is important for children whose speech lags behind their peers.
- Weak or vice versa increased tone of facial muscles.
- Stuttering - the child repeats syllables in a word, or he cannot utter the word at all, focusing on one part. Often children who are frightened, have experienced a strong shock or are simply indecisive kids suffer from this.
- Voice impairment - the child is tired talkingb, does it quietly and complains of pain and sore throat, a feeling of "coma" and heaviness when speaking.
- Dysarthria. Violation, rather, psychological than articulatory. Against the background of various mental disorders, the child cannot speak correctly.
- Increased salivation tIt 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 painful sensations and discomfort, because of which the child, even in a healthy state, can refuse to exercise.
Varieties
It is no secret that for the development of speech it is necessary to work not only with the speech apparatus, because in the human body everything is interconnected.
- Tongue massage. You must first relax the jaw muscles, cervical and shoulder muscles to relax the root of the uvula. If touching the tongue causes a 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 be extended longer.
- Lip massage... All movements are repeated at least 50 times and very gently.
- Neck massage... It is performed before meals or after 2 hours have passed from a meal.
- Ear massage... Stimulates the articulation 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 is the stomach, the middle is the spine, the intestinal region, the ring finger is the liver, the little finger is the heart. It is better to start with finger massage, gradually increasing the area of manipulation.
- Massage with spoons. Requires accuracy in conducting.
Conditions for holding
Ideally, speech therapy massage is prescribed by a specialist doctor. 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 well ventilated. The hands of the massager are warm and clean.
The first lesson is no more than five minutes, the child must get used to an unusual procedure for him. The first time 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 withstand only 10 minutes, preschoolers up to 15-20, but schoolchildren can fully endure 25 minutes.
Classes should be systematized, about 2-3 times a week, the smaller the gap between classes, the higher the efficiency. However, daily repetition can also lead to rejection.
The child must complete a course of at least 15 lessons.
For massage, you should purchase massage oil or plant oils, having previously tested them for an allergic reaction. Wear gloves and a mask to avoid infections, this is especially important for babies. You may also need ammonia, in case of loss of consciousness, which happens extremely rarely.
Home technique
Many believe that at home the mother will not be able to cope with speech disorders. However, this is a big mistake. All speech therapists talk about the need to study at home, otherwise it is difficult to consolidate the result of each class.
It is better to start massage from the whole face, which will relieve hypertonicity and general tension of the baby. Starting from the forehead, gradually stroking 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 unpleasant or simply does not want to, then it is worth limiting himself to light strokes, gradually moving on to the complex.
Language
It is carried out from the tip of the tongue to its root.
- Grabbing the end of the tongue, you need to move it up and down, left-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.
- Creation of vibration. Gently wiggle the tongue, tap lightly with your finger.
- Massage the frenum of the tongue up and down.
- Use a cloth of different texture to stroke the tongue.
- We use a soft toothbrush, drawing letters along the tongue.
These exercises are not easy to do without preparation. Lots of instructional videos for tongue massage will help newbies.
Another important condition is that the child must control salivation, if it turns out badly, you can put a napkin under your tongue and change it as it gets wet.
Lips
This also includes the chin and nasolabial fold.
- Rubbing lips with fingers.
- We go from one corner to another in a circular motion.
- Massage both lips in opposite directions, upper - to the left, lower - to the right and change direction.
- Tingling lips and area around.
- Pressing on the lips in a circular motion.
- Light finger slaps.
This complex is repeated several times in one session.
Arms
Fingers and the entire surface of the palm are worked out separately. The fingers are massaged from tip to base. The best place to start is with the little finger.
- Massaging the fingers, pressing on the pads, increasing the pressure.
- The poem "Magpie-white-sided", familiar from childhood, will help to work out the whole palm. Offer your child verse self-massage.
- Draw a spiral on the palm of your hand with your finger, from the center to the edge.
- Stock up on a rubber ball with spikes (su-jok) and drive it over the baby's palm, invite him to roll it between his palms. You can also use a special brush "Hedgehog" to work out the nerve endings.
- Pour cereals of different sizes into a plate and dip your fingers into it.
Neck
- Turns and tilts of the neck left-right, back and forth.
- Head twisting.
- Massaging the Adam's apple area with gentle strokes.
- Massage the cervical spine with light pats of the fingers.
Ears
- Rubbing from above to the lobe and back (5 times).
- Pulling the lobe down.
- Massage the ear tragus with light pressure and circular motions.
- 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.
Spoon massage
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 upper and lower lips are ironed with the convex part of the spoons.
- Circular movements on the lips.
- Use the tip of a spoon to gently press on the nasolabial fold.
- Scrub both lips with a spoon.
- Massage the chin and cheeks in a circular motion with the convex part.
- The same massage of the temples and eyes - along the eyelid and back under the eyes.
- Rubbing the glabellar space, cheekbones.
It is important to finish the complex of massage gently and carefully so that the child receives only positive emotions from the procedure and does not refuse in the future.
This can be done by gently stroking the baby's face, cheeks, hair, while praising the baby for his patience and perseverance.
Home massage gives positive results. This can be seen not only by reading the reviews of satisfied mothers, but also by listening to the competent opinion of speech therapists. Many people note that the first results become noticeable after 4-5 sessions. In children with severe disorders, the dynamics is noticeable after 7-8 sessions.
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.
For information on how to properly perform speech therapy massage at home, see the next video.
