Long-term results of combined use of speech therapy and osteopathic correction in 5–6 year old children with dysarthria

Introduction. Dysarthria is a disorder of motor dynamics, which manifests itself in oral speech in the form of illegibility and indistinctness. Also motor realization is impaired, the mobility of the organs of speech (soft palate, tongue, lips) is limited, and so articulation is difficult. Correction of dysarthria only with the help of exercises with a speech therapist is not always effective enough; therefore, there is a constant search for methods that would make it possible to solve speech therapy problems more efficiently and in a shorter time. In this regard, there is great interest in osteopathic correction. The somatic dysfunctions and the results of osteopathic correction of children with dysarthria are described in sufficient detail in the available literary, but only for the end of treatment. The question of preservation of the achieved osteopathic correction results is practically not covered.Aim is to study the long-term results of osteopathic correction of somatic dysfunctions in children aged 5–6 years with dysarthria.Materials and methods. The study involved children with an established diagnosis of dysarthria at the age of 5–6 years. The study participants were divided into the control (15 people) and the main (26 people) groups. The participants in the control group received speech therapy, the participants in the main group received speech therapy and osteopathic correction. The logopaedic, osteopathic and neurological examinations were performed at the start of the study. The logopaedic examination was repeated 12 months after the completion of the correction. The osteopathic examination was repeated immediately after the completion of the correction, after 6 and 12 months. The neurological examination was repeated 6 and 12 months after the completion of the correction.Results. During the study of the long-term results of the correction performed in the both groups, there was a positive trend in several indicators characterizing the severity of speech impairment, including impaired speech pronunciation and dysarthria. In the main group, the dynamics was statistically significantly (p<0,05) more pronounced than in the control group. In the main group, there was a statistically significant (p<0,05) decrease in the severity of global and regional somatic dysfunctions, as well as a decrease in the detection frequency of local disorders of the craniosacral system and local visceral dysfunctions. Also in the main group there was a significant (p<0,05) decrease in the detection frequency of disorders of several indicators characterizing neurological status, including such indicators as convergence, facial symmetry, pharyngeal reflex, neck muscle tension, Romberg posture, local soreness, maskiness, the location of the tongue in the center, the condition of the muscles of the floor of the mouth, the tension of the muscles of the neck, fi nger-nose test.Conclusion. The study demonstrated not only the clinical efficacy of the combined use of osteopathic correction and speech therapy, but also the preservation of the achieved results according to the follow-up evaluation data. The obtained results make it possible to recommend the inclusion of osteopathic correction in the complex correction of dysarthria in preschool children.