Logoneurosis - what is it, treatment methods for children and adults

Features of speech pathology

Logoneurosis - what is it? This is a disease whose manifestations are variable. They are usually accompanied by other disorders of a neurotic nature.

With this type of stuttering, the patient does not have consistently difficult to pronounce sound combinations. At the same time, logoneurosis itself manifests itself only in stressful situations, when it is psychologically difficult for the patient to communicate (during an important speech, during an exam, in a conflict situation, etc.).

Some sources also use medical terms such as logoclonia and laloneurosis to refer to this disease. Due to its neurological roots, logoneurosis is sometimes associated with a phenomenon such as verbophobia or logophobia, that is, with the fear (fear) of speaking.

How to treat logoneurosis in children: prevention and recommendations

It is very important that parents notice deviations in the child’s speech development in a timely manner. At the first warning signs, you should contact a specialist. If a child is initially at risk, then it is advisable to undergo periodic examinations by a neurologist.

As the child develops, you should pay attention to whether different types of fears are expressed. Perhaps there are already some concerns about fairy-tale characters or some events. Over time, such isolated experiences can develop into neurosis-like states.

Children should not often watch TV or be at the computer. This can lead to disruption of overall development and speech patterns. All games should be played during the day, but before bed a gentle regime is necessary, otherwise the child will be overexcited.

You can’t be at the computer often

Particular attention should be paid to the psychological education of children, since they cannot be spoiled too much. If he does not receive a refusal to all his requests, then at the first failure to fulfill his whims he will have to face hysterics. In case of punishment, you should not intimidate the child, especially leave him in a closed or dark room.

If stuttering has already developed, then teachers should constantly maintain contact with the parents of such children. In addition, in a children's institution, children need increased attention, care, and sensitivity.

It is very important that other peers treat you with respect and never tease you.

As for demandingness, it must not be reduced, since this can also cause spoiling. At the same time, contact with other children is very important, because this will make it easier for the child to learn to speak fluently. Choral speech performances will be helpful.

Music and dancing will have a beneficial effect on speech development. It is in such classes that the child will have the opportunity to form correct breathing, and especially the tempo and rhythm of speech. In some cases, individual singing lessons will be useful, since they allow you to cope with logoneurosis.

Already when teaching at school, such children should not be asked first. If suddenly the child begins to answer and falters, then the teacher should help him. This may require shifting your attention or supplementing your presentation. Children who stutter should not be allowed to find themselves in stressful situations.

Prerequisites for the development of the disease

Most often, stuttering (logoneurosis) occurs due to the following factors:

• in childhood (2.5-6 years), when active accumulation of vocabulary occurs;
• for other speech disorders (for example, with delayed speech development, general underdevelopment of speech, alalia, dyslalia, rhinolalia, etc.);
• in the process of pathological upbringing, violation of family roles;
• with certain properties of the nervous system (due to increased excitability, impressionability, vulnerability, emotional lability);
• with stuttering parents, as well as characterological traits characteristic of them;
• in adolescence (14-17 years), when stress increases due to the need to defend one’s importance in society;
• due to hormonal changes in the body;
• with an infectious lesion of the central nervous system;
• with cerebral palsy (sometimes stuttering manifests itself in cerebral palsy as a concomitant disease);
• for endocrine disorders.

It should also be noted that stuttering occurs much less frequently in adults than in childhood. Moreover, such a pathological condition can be provoked by any traumatic situation.

Causes of stuttering.

Stuttering most often develops in preschool children. An important role is played by the fact that the final formation of the cerebral hemispheres is completed by about five years - in a child, excitation reactions are more pronounced than inhibition processes. These same reactions easily turn into motor activity, including the muscles of the speech apparatus. Articulatory muscles (tongue, lips, soft palate, larynx) are underdeveloped and do not work very clearly.

Children quite often, perceiving various sounds and words by ear, but not understanding their meaning, can simply mix them together. When a child learns to speak, his central nervous system experiences enormous stress, which can result in disruptions in its functioning, leading to stuttering. The imitation factor can play an important role in the occurrence of logoneurosis. When there is a person who stutters in the family or in a child’s immediate circle, children can simply adopt this manner of speaking.

With very early development of speech, when a small person develops a large vocabulary, and the vocal apparatus is not fully formed, he may simply not be able to cope with a huge number of sounds. It is noticed that the child tries to give out information in an almost continuous stream, which is the norm. These factors may also play a role:

• When there is an unhealthy psychological climate in the family and the child does not receive enough attention, he may stutter deliberately to attract this same attention.
• If the upbringing is too strict and the slightest offense is followed by reproach or punishment, children become overly fearful and tense, which contributes to the appearance of the disease.

When parents try to raise a little polyglot from their child, and begin learning languages ​​at a very early age, the immature brain is not able to coordinate the information, because the child has not even fully mastered the main native language. This is especially noticeable in bilingual families. Sometimes, in order to surprise relatives and friends, parents teach long and complex poems to their children in order to show off their offspring’s abilities at a family celebration. But not only is the brain not ready for such experiments, but also the speech apparatus is not able to withstand such loads.

If a child is born left-handed and is forcibly retrained to use the right hand, this process causes quite severe stress, which increases the risk of logoneurosis. Boys are much more likely to stutter than girls. It’s just that, due to physiological characteristics, all motor functions in girls are finally formed much earlier - this feature also applies to the development of the articulatory apparatus.

The risk group includes children who have suffered intrauterine hypoxia, birth head injuries, infectious diseases affecting the central nervous system, various traumatic brain injuries and other pathologies that affect the functioning of the nervous system. Mental trauma and stressful situations also increase the chances of stuttering. Moreover, the reasons that caused the psychological disorder and the duration of their impact do not play any role at all: a speech defect can cause both a short fright and a long-term state of excitement or fear.

Logoneurosis in adults (stuttering) is much less common than in childhood. This is the name of speech pathology, in which a person frequently repeats individual sounds, syllables, or entire words. Sometimes they are prolonged and pauses occur. Difficult communication leads to psychological problems, so it is necessary to solve it. According to statistics, pathology occurs more often in men.

Reasons why an adult stutters?

If logoneurosis occurs in early childhood, then there are many ways to solve this problem. The work of specialists with children from 2 to 6 years old is especially effective, since it is at this time that speech formation occurs. If stuttering worsens or recurs at the age of 16, then the reasons may be high lability of the nervous system or the development of neurosis. But there are cases when logoneurosis is not observed in a child at an early age, but suddenly appears in him as he grows up. The probability of such an event is about 1%.

Recently, there has been an increasing number of adults suffering from logoneurosis. Both in them and in children, when stuttering during a conversation, convulsions of the speech apparatus occur, which cannot be considered as a common defect, since their occurrence is associated with psychoneurological problems, of which the following are distinguished:

• Neurotic. No physiological pathology is noted. Logoneurosis develops against the background of severe emotional shock, shock, and grief. In conversation, speech impairment is especially pronounced when the phrases he utters are of high importance to the patient.
• Organic. The cause is diseases (trauma, tumor, contusion). Speech disorders can be temporary or permanent. They disappear only after the cause of their occurrence is eliminated.

How might this manifest itself?

Stuttering may be accompanied by the following symptoms:

• Neurological signs (anxiety, sleep and appetite disturbances, feelings of inferiority, sweating);
• Speech disorders (difficulty, repetition, forced pauses, convulsive articulation and spasm);
• Tick ​​of facial muscles, feeling of lack of air, trembling of lips and upper limbs, convulsive breathing.

As a result of strong anger or fear, temporary stuttering may occur, and it is absolutely necessary to provide timely help, otherwise the pathological condition may persist for a long time.

Symptoms of the disease

Stuttering manifests itself in the same way in adults and children. As is known, this phenomenon is caused by spasms of the speech apparatus, including spasms of the muscles of the larynx, palate, tongue or lips.

Spasms of the muscular tissues of the larynx are vocal. Actually, this is where the concept of “stuttering” comes from, since this pathological process is quite reminiscent of hiccups. As for spasms of the tongue, palate and lips, they are articulatory spasms. There are also respiratory spasms. When they occur, breathing is disrupted and a feeling of lack of air is created.

Prevention of neuroses

If a child is diagnosed with neurosis, then the consequence of this condition may be not only stuttering. In the future, this can develop into more serious neurological abnormalities. In such a situation, the first thing to do is to pay special attention to the climate in the family.

It is very important to minimize the manifestation of anxious and suspicious traits at the very beginning of the disease. For this purpose, the child can be involved in participation in social events and systematically overcoming difficulties. Contact with other children, as well as animals, is very important.

In addition, an individual approach should be developed for each child, which will allow them to overcome psychological difficulties. At the same time, one must also not forget about the child’s physical health, so sports, increased activity, and frequent walks are necessary.

When preventing neuroses, one must not forget that a child cannot know absolutely everything and have constant good academic performance. For this reason, you should try to avoid information overload and intensive study. In preschool age, all exercises should also be within the child’s ability and should be done without coercion.

Main signs of the disease

Logoneurosis - what is it? This is a neurogenic disease that manifests itself as follows:

• Common neurological symptoms: feelings of inferiority, mental stress, fears, high anxiety, sleep problems, decreased appetite, excessive sweating.
• The main signs of logoneurosis: repetition (multiple times) of individual sounds, difficulty in pronouncing syllables or words, articulatory spasms, involuntary pauses that occur during speech and spasms of the speech apparatus.
• Associated symptoms: muscle tension, facial tics, lip tremors, blinking, respiratory spasms, facial grimaces and a feeling of lack of oxygen.

Therapy for children

There are many methods to get rid of the problem. They will be selected by a neurologist and speech therapist. Typically, for a 4-year-old child, healing is based on a set of measures:

• speech correction by a speech therapist;
• breathing control;
• massage;
• use of computerized speech correction programs;
• drug treatment;
• parents' work.

Speech therapy correction

Speech therapy work with children who stutter is aimed at freeing speech from tension. This is facilitated by daily articulation exercises. They hold her in front of a small mirror. In children, the articulatory apparatus does not work well enough. It is initially difficult for them to raise their tongue to the palate and roll it into a tube, i.e. they need to develop a muscular system. The goal is to develop correct, confident articulation, smooth, rhythmic speech. After gymnastic exercises, you can move on to more complex tasks - making sounds.

Children under 5 years old are not given sounds. Speech therapy methods for treating stuttering are more aimed at working with articulation, developing fine motor skills, developing the respiratory system and learning about the world around us. Proper breathing is especially important when treating stuttering in three-year-old children whose history shows early development of coherent speech. For five-year-old children, special exercises are developed aimed at developing oral speech and communication with others. As the child’s speech independence increases, the exercises become more difficult.

Speech therapy correction is an effective way to treat stuttering

Breathing exercises

The exercise system is selected according to the age characteristics of the baby. The goal is to develop the diaphragm and introduce it into the process of speech formation, which will make the ligaments more mobile. During speech, they will completely close. Breathing exercises for a child are often supplemented with various relaxation techniques.

Children are usually asked to blow up balloons and soap bubbles. A good option would be to visit the pool. There they teach proper breathing and various exercises that develop the diaphragm.

Acupressure

Physiotherapy for stuttering in children is based on massage. Point types allow you to influence poorly functioning nerve receptors through mechanical irritation of sensitive points on the body. The result can be noticeable after the first massage session.

Computerized speech correction programs

Specially developed programs that synchronize the speech and hearing centers can help a child cope with stuttering more quickly. When pronouncing words and phrases into a microphone, the child hears his speech through headphones already changed. The program delays words for a fraction of a second.

Over time, the baby adapts his speech to machine speech. Using this program, you can work through real life situations in which vivid symptoms of logoneurosis arise: anger, regret, dissatisfaction. The program gives its own assessment of how the patient coped and suggests what needs to be adjusted. The method is an excellent addition when speech therapy classes for schoolchildren do not produce the desired effect.

Drug therapy

Medicine for stuttering in children is used as an additional method. Typically, drugs are used that improve brain function, reduce central nervous system excitation and enhance immunity. Homeopathic remedies are prescribed to improve sleep and increase the body's overall resistance. They are selected individually if the baby is not allergic to herbs.

Homeopathic remedies are prescribed to children to increase immunity and improve sleep

“Tenoten for children” is effective for stuttering when the pathology is provoked by overwork and increased stress. Improves brain performance, reduces susceptibility to psychological stress factors. Improves memory. Indicated for increased nervous excitability, irritability, impaired attention and coordination, and disorders of the vegetative-vascular system.

Phenibut for stuttering in children has a positive effect on the performance of brain centers. Belongs to the group of nootropics and has a moderate tranquilizer effect. The drug improves blood circulation in the brain. Phenibut anti-stuttering tablets for children are used in serious cases when speech pathology is accompanied by additional symptoms of neurosis:

• sleep disorders;
• asthenia;
• nervous tics;
• enuresis;
• phobias.

Parents' work

Correction of stuttering in children of primary preschool age begins with improving the psychogenic environment. This largely depends on the parents. The child takes an example from them. You can't swear in front of your baby. It is strictly forbidden to lock him in a room, turn off the lights at night if he is afraid of this, and shame him for his speech, fear, and other shortcomings.

Methods for correcting stuttering in children will be ineffective if parents do not contribute to this.

You need to speak correctly, clearly and distinctly in front of your baby. No baby talk or diminutive names for objects. It is important not only to follow these rules yourself, but also to teach other adults who communicate with the child to do the same. Working with children at all levels makes it possible to prevent the disease from becoming chronic and to avoid relapses in adolescence and adulthood.

Types of disease

As you can see, logoneurosis in children and adults is quite easy to diagnose. This is due to the fact that its symptoms cannot be confused with signs of other abnormalities.

Depending on the symptoms of the disease in question, three different types of logoneurosis are distinguished. Let's look at them right now.

• Clonic stuttering. This condition is characterized by frequent, obsessive and repeated repetition of individual syllables, words or sounds.
• Tonic logoneurosis. This type is characterized by involuntary speech pauses and protracted pronunciation of syllables or words.
• Mixed type. With this logoneurosis, symptoms of both of the above types are observed.

Clinical picture

Logoneurosis rarely has no additional symptoms. Typically, children may experience sweating, hand tremors, and sleep disturbances due to obsessive movements. In addition, there are usually other signs of excitement and neurasthenia.

As for the external manifestation of stuttering, the main symptom here is stuttering, intermittent speech, which can be accompanied by repetition of individual sounds, delayed pronunciation and speech spasms. Typically, almost all patients, regardless of age, experience intermittent and shallow breathing.

Many children try to compensate for long words that they cannot pronounce with other shorter ones. Most often, cramps occur when pronouncing vowel sounds. At the same time, there are three types of them: jerk-like, closing, vocal. Respiratory spasms can occur both when inhaling and exhaling. The latter are considered the most difficult, since they are characterized by powerful contraction of the abdominal muscles due to lack of air.

A separate and most important sign of logoneurosis is convulsive contraction of the speech apparatus. In this case, when making a diagnosis, clonic, respiratory and tonic convulsions are distinguished. The severity of the child’s condition and further prognosis often depend on them.

Clonic and respiratory spasms

This type of convulsive contractions is manifested by repeated muscle contractions and is particularly rhythmic. In such a situation, the patient experiences frequent repetition of single sounds, individual syllables, and sounds. Typically, convulsions can occur in both the articulatory and respiratory apparatus. They can differ significantly from each other, but usually have a mixed character.

Classification of spasms:

1. Respiratory-vocal;
2. Respiratory-articulatory;
3. Articulation-voice.

The main symptoms in this case are that convulsions almost always occur when trying to just start speaking. Quite often there may be a feeling that there has been a strong contraction of the abdominal muscles, the chest has become very compressed, and the lack of air is noticeably pronounced.

Tonic convulsions

In this case, there is a sharp increase in the tone of the articulatory muscle plexuses, which manifests itself simultaneously in several areas. In this case, speech can be expressed by prolonged vocalization or a prolonged pause. The patient has noticeable facial stiffness and severe tension.

For many people who stutter, speech may be accompanied by involuntary movements. They are often of a forced nature, and therefore are characterized by mental disorders.

It is believed that such patients belong to the anxious-suspicious type, and their behavior is often accompanied by rituals.

Since the activity of the central nervous system is directly related to the autonomic system, in parallel, patients experience disturbances in this area. Children with an asthenic body type experience severe attacks of tachycardia, hyperhidrosis, and the appearance of spots on the skin. Psychologists and neurologists consider these manifestations as sympatho-adrenal.

In addition to the types of convulsive contractions of the speech apparatus, it is important to take into account other factors that influence the manifestation of the clinical picture. There are 2 types of stuttering, the first is called evolutionary, and its noticeable signs appear at the age of 2-6 years.

Another form of logoneurosis is symptomatic and occurs much less frequently. It can develop at any age against the background of serious damaging factors. This could be epilepsy, head injury, meningitis, or a consequence of a reactive state during hysteria.

Symptomatic stuttering due to neuroinfection

Since damage to the nervous system can affect various functions of the brain, special attention should be paid to conditions caused by neuroinfections. Here, much will depend on how far the pathological process has spread.

Inflammation of the brain tissue (encephalitis) or its membranes (meningitis) is always associated with the entry of a pathogen into the organ. Combined pathologies can also occur, when all parts of the brain are affected, and even the back. In this case, both viruses and bacteria can provoke the disease; fungi are less common pathogens.

The degree of damage to the nervous system in this case will depend on the severity of the disease. If the child’s immunity and drug therapy quickly suppressed the growth of the infection, then stuttering may not be too pronounced; most often it will be of a neurosis-like nature in combination with tics.

In this case, the child’s motor and speech development may fully correspond to age standards, but the physical side suffers.

Patients often experience clonic articulatory and respiratory spasms, which intensify during stressful situations. All movements may not have a clear sequence and organization.

Many children with neurosis-like stuttering against the background of central nervous system damage may experience an undulating course of the disease. In this case, improvements may be observed, followed by regressions. Later, a persistent and monotonous course is formed. In practice, the most common occurrence is a mixed course of logoneurosis with different manifestations of symptoms.

Sleep disorder

Since stuttering disrupts many functions of the central nervous system, attacks of insomnia may occur against the background of increased anxiety and restlessness. Psychotraumatic causes and external stimuli are of particular importance.

Children may have problems falling asleep due to increased excitability. At the same time, neurotic disorders manifest themselves in different ways. A child may wake up at night from fears or fright. In addition, there may often be frightening dreams. Gradually this leads to coma and the child is afraid to fall asleep.

The environment and how often traumatic circumstances occur are of great importance. This is most often expressed in preschool age.

At the same time, the child may lose speech altogether for some time. This condition is called mutism and usually goes away after some time.

Choosing a specialist

If a patient stutters, he or she should contact one of the following specialists:

• Psychotherapist. Sessions with such a doctor can be aimed at eliminating anxiety. The patient is also helped to build new habits in the process of communicating with other people. In addition, he is taught relaxation techniques. Hypnosis is considered one of the most effective methods of psychotherapy for stuttering.
• Neurologist. Such a specialist will not only help in making a diagnosis, but will also refer you for an MRI and EEG examination. Also, if necessary, the doctor may prescribe a course of mild nootropics or sedatives.
• Physiotherapist, acupuncturist, reflexologist and massage therapist. Such doctors conduct therapy sessions aimed at normalizing the functioning of the nervous system.
• A speech therapist is a specialist who works directly with speech defects.

It should also be noted that the patient himself can use the following techniques: aromatherapy, herbal medicine, relaxing baths, meditation, breathing and muscle relaxation techniques.

Emotional-imaginative therapy for logoneurosis

This treatment method is relatively new. This is an original direction in psychiatry, which allows you to treat various mental disorders and neuroses, and the results are quite fast. This therapy is especially effective for psychosomatic disorders.

This technique was developed in Russia in the 90s. Initially, its goal was to preserve the health and psychological development of the population for as long as possible. It was believed that it should be used comprehensively in families.

The main idea of ​​this method is based on the fact that an emotional state can be expressed in several ways. So, for this they use sound, kinesthetic and visual images. Thanks to this, it is possible to transform the original mental state.

Emotionally figurative therapy for logoneurosis can be effective in that it eliminates those neurosis-like manifestations of the child that were not realized at the time. As a result, “stuck” emotions come out, are transformed, and old chronic problems go away. Some schools use the method of psychoanalysis and neurolinguistic programming to correct the psychotype.

As such, precise data regarding the effectiveness of this method have not been recorded. It is reliably known that an accurate diagnosis of damaging factors is carried out. After this, a program of precise emotional and semantic influence on the child is drawn up, as a result of which the original psychodynamic conflict, which provoked the neurosis, is resolved.

It is believed that this method is also useful for emotional stress, psychotrauma, fear, and emotional dependence.

Some studies point to the fact that most diseases are psychosomatic in origin. In this case, this therapy will be effective even for chronic diseases and old pathologies.

Logoneurosis: treatment

Treatment for stuttering should begin as early as possible, before the symptoms of the disease have time to take hold.

Logoneurosis in children requires complex therapy. Patients who stutter should definitely meet with a child and family psychologist, who will help the parents of a sick child develop a harmonious and correct parenting style, as well as create a comfortable microclimate in the family.

In some cases, folk remedies are used to treat such a disease. There are many ready-made herbal preparations that have a calming effect. These include the following:

• Ordinary oregano (1 large spoon per 220 ml of boiling water, cook in a water bath for ¼ hour, and then leave for about 40 minutes). After straining, take the decoction three times a day, dividing it into 3 servings.
• Rue fragrant (1 dessert spoon of herb per 220 ml of boiling water, keep in a water bath for about 5 minutes). Teens and adults should take 1 large spoon three times daily. For small children, it is enough to gargle with a decoction.
• White ash or dead nettle (1 large spoon of herb is poured into 220 ml of boiling water, wrapped and infused for about half an hour). Take the finished broth, 1 large spoon three times a day. For small children, it is enough to gargle.

External factors provoking logoneurosis

Very often, the mental and speech development of a child is influenced by the environment in which he grows up. Living conditions and the level of upbringing of the child play an important role here. Individual factors include disturbances in diet and sleep patterns. All parents should understand that the child should grow up in comfortable conditions, both emotional and physical.

Strong external sound stimuli are of particular importance in the formation of neurosis. If the TV or computer is constantly on in the house, and music is playing, then sound perception will be impaired. If we add to this a small space and a lack of fresh air, the situation will be more complicated.

Special attention should also be paid to “spontaneous” factors that cause severe emotional and physical stress in a child. This could be an accident, injury caused by wild animals or a pet, family scandals, medical procedures, poisoning.

The greatest detrimental effect on the development of a child’s speech apparatus is exerted by various traumatic situations. They are most often the etiological factor that triggers the disease. The reason for this is a nervous breakdown, which provokes a deviation from the norm in the functioning of the nervous system.

To date, tests in the field of neurophysiology and psychology confirm the fact that in children who stutter, excitation processes predominate in the work of the central nervous system on inhibition. Weakening of inhibitory functions is often due to the child’s weak constitution or previous illnesses or injuries.

A number of disorders associated with inhibition processes lead to the formation of foci of stagnant excitation in the brain. They, in turn, are a kind of trigger mechanism for increased excitation, and form an entire system that becomes the cause of the development of many diseases of the central nervous system.

All of the above factors must be taken into account at the diagnosis stage. Such a variety of causes is what creates speech impairment, as well as the development of other disorders.

In addition, accurate identification of the provoking mechanism will allow you to select the correct treatment tactics and complex therapy.

Methods for treating stuttering at home

Logoneurosis, treatment at home which can give good results with regular exposure, is subject to correction methods:

Speech therapy treatment is aimed at relaxing speech during stuttering, establishing correct articulation and rhythmic tempo of speech, and cultivating fluency. Class assignments are first in the form of joint work with a speech therapist. The exercises become more difficult over time. The child must independently repeat the stories he has heard. The skills acquired in remedial classes are reinforced when communicating with others.

Part of the correctional work aimed at exercises for the diaphragm and vocal cords. Such exercises allow your voice and speech to become freer. Training the diaphragm helps make the vocal cords more elastic, allowing them to close tightly when speaking. The set of breathing exercises ends with relaxation tasks.

Methods of alternative medicine, in combination with other ways of corrective influence, can have a positive effect on logoneurosis in a child. With the help of regular courses of acupressure, which are determined by the characteristics and complexity of stuttering, it is possible to restore the nervous regulation of speech. Which helps to correct and eliminate its defects.

A specially developed set of computer programs makes it possible to achieve synchronization of the work of the auditory and speech centers. Treatment of logoneurosis using a computer is carried out as follows: the patient repeats words and sentences into the microphone, and the program delays his speech, playing it back a little later. Having heard his own voice, the child adapts to its sound. Constant training with computer programs can improve the pace of speech, make it smooth and continuous.