Playful procedure to stimulate oral language in children with mild intellectual disabilities

Abstract

Introduction: Speech therapy has been linked to the care of children with some type of disability, mainly those diagnosed with intellectual disability. The speech therapy care developed with these children has been showing inadequacies related to the methodological conception of the process to stimulate language development, and consequently with the poor development of linguistic resources and communication in general, which these children show. In this sense, this work proposes: To develop speech therapy activities for the stimulation of oral language in children with language delay due to mild intellectual disability, using fabulation as a playful procedure. Materials and methods: The research assumes qualitative methodology with quantitative elements, which is why corresponding theoretical and empirical methods were used, which allowed corroborating the didactic-pedagogical quality of the activities designed and applied. Results: This procedure is conceived as an alternative to traditional methods and procedures, it emphasizes stimulation, the creation of a state of readiness for speech, it sustains motivation throughout the treatment, it favors thought, imagination, memory, and logical relationships in language. Discussion: The process of speech therapy for the development of oral language in children with language delay due to mild intellectual disability has been enriched in its didactic-pedagogical conception from traditionalist primary conceptions to a preventive-corrective-compensatory approach, without yet achieving sufficient actions as initiatives directed toward the stimulation of oral language. Conclusions: The playful procedure is a set of operations designed to create an environment of harmony in children who are immersed in the teaching process, through play through fun and enjoyable activities in which the fantasy of fabrication can be included.