Features of the pronunciation in school-age children with minimal hearing impairment

The peculiarities of the pronunciation of children aged 7-9 years with minimal hearing impairment (MHI) were studied. In 20 children with MHI and 20 children with normal hearing and speech development, pronunciation, the phonemic skills, articulatory praxis, as potential mechanisms of pronunciation disorders were assessed with a battery of tests. It was found that children with MHI are a heterogeneous group in terms of the state of pronunciation and the mechanisms that cause pronunciation disorders. 30% of children with MHI, mainly with unilateral hearing loss, did not have pronunciation disorders. In 70% of children with MHI the pronunciation disorders and manifestations of primary speech impairments, corresponding to the diagnosis F80.0 specific articulation disorder (articulatory dyspraxia) were detected. The majority of examined children with MHI showed difficulties in categorical differentiation of speech sounds, especially in the high-frequency range, and insufficient phonemic analysis. Obviously the pronunciation disorders in children with MHI are caused by both sensory (deficit of phonemic perception of high-frequency speech sounds) and motor (immaturity of articulatory praxis) mechanisms. These deficiencies, which are also risk factors for writing disorders in schoolchildren, should be taken into account when organizing speech therapy with children with MHI, as well as when deciding on the need for hearing aids for some children.