Formation of written speech in children with mental retardation using the construction method

Abstract

The problem of developing writing skills in primary school students with mental retardation continues to be of high importance in the field of modern correctional pedagogy and speech therapy. The peculiarity of the cognitive sphere of such students, which is characterized by low productivity, attention and memory deficits, as well as the lack of formation of language analysis and synthesis operations, causes significant difficulties in the process of mastering writing skills. The need for increased attention to this problem is indicated by a steady trend towards an increase in the proportion of children in this category.: Statistics show that their number has increased from 34% in 2021 to 42% by 2023. Difficulties in the formation of written speech in children with ASD are systemic in nature and manifest themselves at various levels: insufficient formation of graphomotor skills, poor vocabulary, problems with the logical construction of utterances, fragmentary text. Traditional teaching methods often turn out to be ineffective, which necessitates the search and implementation of adapted methods that take into account the specifics of the development of this category of students. The method of text construction is considered as such a tool in this study. This method is a step-by-step formation of skills for constructing coherent utterances from the word level to the text level, which allows you to purposefully influence the key components of the defect structure. The purpose of the study is to develop a theoretical and methodological justification and practical implementation of a set of speech therapy classes aimed at developing writing in younger schoolchildren with ASD through the method of textual construction. The effectiveness of the proposed approach was evaluated during a comparative analysis of the results obtained at the ascertaining and control stages of experimental work. The study was conducted in three stages: ascertaining, forming and control. At the ascertaining stage (September 2023), a primary diagnosis of the level of formation of written speech was carried out. The formative stage (October 2023 – January 2024) included the implementation of a correctional program. The control stage (February 2024) was aimed at assessing the dynamics. The following techniques were used at the ascertaining and control stages: 1) the method of Extracting words from a single text by A.N. Kornev to assess the ability of syntactic structuring of speech; 2) The method of Constructing sentences from given words by R.I. Kornev. Lalaeva for analyzing the grammatical design of an utterance; 3) I.N. Sadovnikova's method of Restoring the logical and semantic structure of a text for diagnosing the ability to establish a sequence of events; 4) L.F. Spirova, A.V. Yastrebova's Method of evaluating written works for a comprehensive analysis of the outline, spelling, coherence of the text and identification of specific errors. The results of the primary diagnosis testified to the presence of persistent difficulties in mastering writing skills in all subjects included in the research sample. Thus, during the Extracting words from a single text test, it was found that almost half of the participants (48%, n=12) demonstrated a low level of formation of this skill. The insufficient level was recorded in 8% (2 people), and the average – in 12% (3 people). 32% of the students (8 people) had a high level indicator. A deeper diagnosis based on the analysis of written works according to the methodology of I.N. Sadovnikova revealed further specifics of violations, in particular, significant difficulties in constructing a coherent statement. A low level of development of coherent speech was found in the vast majority of the surveyed – 68% (17 people). 8% (2 people) showed an insufficient level, while the average and high levels were evenly represented – 12% in each group (3 people). A detailed analysis of the statements showed critically low scores by all criteria. For example, 75% (18 people) could not identify the main idea of the text (0 points), and 83.3% (20 people) could not demonstrate semantic integrity and logic. The analysis of the structure of dysgraphic disorders has shown their polymorphic nature. All the surveyed schoolchildren (100%) had persistent errors in their written works related to the lack of formation of sound analysis and synthesis operations, as well as persistent spelling difficulties. The complex nature of the violations is also evidenced by the high representation of errors of a different type: omissions of full-valued words occurred in 96% of cases, while substitutions and mixing of graphemes, as well as visual-motor errors were typical for 92% of students. Comparison of the data obtained with the results of the study by L.T. Zueva. It revealed common patterns, which confirms the universality of the identified difficulties for children with ASD.