THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE FORMATION OF THE INITIAL LEXICON IN CHILDREN WITH DELAYED SPEECH DEVELOPMENT

Introduction. In recent decades, one of the most pressing problems in special pedagogy and psychology has been the increasing number of young children with deviations in speech development. According to statistical data, about 20% of infants and young children show signs of delayed speech development (DSD) [5]. This problem is interdisciplinary in nature and is the focus of attention of neurologists, psychologists, educators, and speech therapists.

In the scientific literature, the term "delayed speech development" is understood as a slowing of the pace at which the level of speech development does not correspond to the child's age [2; 3; 6]. However, despite a pronounced need for communication and preserved intellectual potential, such children exhibit an extremely limited volume of active vocabulary and difficulties in producing new words and repeating them after adults. According to researchers, it is the underdevelopment of the initial children's lexicon that is the key obstacle to the further development of the child's communicative abilities and socialization [4]. This determines the relevance of theoretical understanding of this problem for building an effective system of correctional and pedagogical assistance.

In modern psycholinguistics and speech therapy, there is no unified interpretation of the concept of "lexicon." Most often, it is understood as an individual's vocabulary. However, in relation to early age, O.E. Gromova offers a broader interpretation. She views the initial children's lexicon not as a formal, age-limited list of first words, but as a special dynamic lexical system formed in parallel with the development of the child's consciousness and personality [4, p. 48].

Features of the lexicon in children with delayed speech development.

Delayed speech development is a systemic defect in which the rate of mastering all components of language slows down. The causes of DSD include both biological factors (hypoxia, injuries, infections, hereditary predisposition) and social factors (lack of communication, pedagogical neglect) [2; 3].

The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the lexicon of children with DSD, presented in the works of O.E. Gromova, reveals a number of specific features [4; 5]: the volume of the impressive (passive) vocabulary is limited to the nominative level. Children understand the names of specific objects but experience difficulties in understanding the designations of actions, qualities, and spatial relationships (prepositions, questions of indirect cases); the expressive (active) vocabulary is extremely sparse and may consist of only 5-10 babbling or onomatopoeic words (e.g., "mama," "woof-woof," "vroom"). Word structure often shows reduction to a single stressed syllable (e.g., "ka" instead of "kasha"); semantic non-differentiation: one word (protoword) can denote an entire class of objects or situations. Word meanings are unstable and depend on the context; difficulties in verbal communication: children prefer to use gestures and exclamations; speech imitation is absent or very weakly expressed. Phrasal speech is typically absent; sensory-motor features: children with DSD often experience difficulties in movement coordination, uncertainty when moving, and reduced fine motor skills, which indirectly affects speech development.

As noted by Yu.F. Garkusha, this category of children shows a delayed emergence of reference words, an inability to generalize, and the main distinguishing feature is the underdevelopment of the lexical component, expressed in the poverty of vocabulary and difficulties in forming practical verbal communication skills [2, p. 47].

Analysis of methodological literature (O.E. Gromova, T.A. Dateshidze, E.V. Kirillova, S.Yu. Tantsyura, E.V. Sheremetyeva) allows us to identify the key areas of correctional and developmental work [4; 6; 8]: development of impressive speech and prerequisites for verbal thinking: formation of auditory and visual attention, teaching understanding of non-verbal and verbal stimuli, accumulation of passive vocabulary, teaching the execution of simple verbal instructions; development of expressive speech and communication skills: stimulation of speech activity and onomatopoeia, formation of motivation for verbal expression, teaching the construction of simple sentences (from amorphous words to two-word phrases); development of the sensory-motor basis of speech: improvement of gross and fine motor skills, development of articulatory motor skills and speech breathing, which creates the basis for correct sound pronunciation; prevention of phonetic-phonemic disorders; formation of motivation for communication.

Of particular importance in working with young children is given to play methods and the active involvement of parents in the correctional process. It is the parents who, having received qualified consultation and learned special techniques, can reinforce speech skills in natural situations of daily communication with the child.

Conclusion. The problem of forming the initial lexicon in children with delayed speech development is a priority area of modern speech therapy. The initial lexicon should be understood not simply as a limited set of words, but as a dynamic system closely connected with the child's cognitive and personal development. The features of the lexicon in DSD are characterized by a significant lag in the formation of active and passive vocabulary, its qualitative uniqueness (polysemy, predominance of babbling words, difficulties in actualization), and a close connection with the underdevelopment of other speech components and mental functions.

Effective correctional work requires a comprehensive approach, including the development of the sensory-motor base, impressive and expressive speech, as well as close cooperation between the speech therapist and the family. Only systematic and targeted intervention, based on knowledge of the patterns of ontogenesis and the structure of the defect, can overcome delayed speech development and ensure the successful socialization of the child.