The Role of Visual Image and Perception in Speech Development of Children With Speech Pathology
It is assumed that in children with various speech pathologies the naming function can be underdeveloped because of defects in the word's gnostic base. Our study revealed impairment in visual memory, perception, and visual representations of an object only in children with speech difficulties, whereas these functions were preserved in normal children of the same age. The children suffering from severe speech disorders (and particularly from naming difficulties) revealed more defects in visual perception and representations than in visual operational memory, which was grossly distorted in children with intellectual inadequacies. However, in this group, visual perception was impaired to a lesser degree. These results form the basis for methodological recommendations to begin rehabilitation of naming with development of the gnostic sphere.