Rotacism : Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment

• Causes Of Rotacism
• Phonetic Characteristic Of Sound [Р]
• Types Of Rotacism
• Diagnostics
• Correction
• Preparation Period
• Sound Staging
• Automation

Rotacism (burr) is a defective pronunciation of sounds [Р-Р′], which does not correspond to the phonetic norms of the Russian language. It is observed with dyslalia, rhinolalia, dysarthria. Instead of a full-fledged rolling [R], formed by vibration of the tip of the tongue, a distorted (throat, bilabial, buccal, etc.) sound is pronounced. Violation is detected in the course of logopedic diagnostics. Correction of rotacism involves the development of the correct articulation pattern, the development of the strength and direction of the air flow, the automation of the normative sound and its introduction into speech. Eliminating the cause of sound distortion may require the participation of dentists, neurologists.

The disadvantages of pronunciation of the sounds [Р] and [Р ′] include their absence, distortion (rotacism) and replacement (pararotacism). The sound [P] is the most complex in terms of the articulation method: it requires differentiated movements of the articulatory muscles, the active participation of the tip of the tongue, which is sufficient in terms of the strength of speech exhalation. Usually this sound appears in children's speech later than others, at 5-6 years. Rotacisms account for 26% of all sound pronunciation disorders in preschoolers; with erased dysarthria, this figure is even higher - 43-53.5%.

Causes of Rotacism

The most common speech disorders associated with defective pronunciation of [Р] and [Р′] are articulatory-phonetic and mechanical dyslalia, dysarthria, and open rhinolalia. Sound distortion occurs in children with phonetic, phonetic-phonemic disorders, general underdevelopment of speech. The most common causes of rotacism are:

• language anomalies. A shortened hyoid ligament prevents the tip of the tongue from rising, preventing it from taking the correct position behind the upper teeth. A problem for normative pronunciation can also be microglossia, macroglossia, a forked tip of the tongue.
• Anomalies of the dental system. The palatine clefts cause a nasal tone when pronouncing all oral sounds, including [Р]. In an open lateral bite, air leakage through the gap between the molars contributes to the lateral pronunciation. Difficulty correct articulation high hard palate.
• Weakness of the articulatory muscles. Insufficiently strong and differentiated movements of the muscles of the tongue lead to an approximate articulation of sounds and do not provide their normative sound. The reason for the lack of sufficient vibration of the tongue is a weak stream of air exhaled during phonation.
• Phonemic hearing disorder. In this case, the child simply does not distinguish by ear the correct pronunciation from the wrong one. As a cause of rotacism, it is rare, often leading to sound substitutions.
• Dysarthria. With a spastic state of the articulatory muscles, uvular and velar rotacism is noted. Paresis of the muscles of the tongue, cheeks often causes lateral distortion.
• Imitation and bilingualism. A child may take defective sound pronunciation as the norm if one of the family members burrs, does not follow his speech. With bilingualism, the assimilation of phonetic features of sound variants borrowed from other languages ​​occurs (uvular [P] - from French, guttural - from German).

Phonetic characteristic of sound [Р]

Sound [R] - consonant (according to the presence of an obstruction), sonorant (according to the participation of voice and noise), anterior lingual (according to the place of formation), trembling, or vibrant (according to the method of formation), oral (according to the place of air outlet). For the correct articulation of an isolated solid sound [Р] it is necessary:

• open lips;
• open teeth;
• raise the tongue in the form of a "cup" by the upper teeth on the alveoli;
• exhale air with pressure on the tip of the tongue, causing it to vibrate.

During phonation, the soft palate rises and closes the passage to the nasal cavity. The vocal folds are closed, fluctuate - the sound is sonorous. When pronouncing soft [P ′], the tip of the tongue moves closer to the incisors, the back of the tongue rises higher to the sky. The sound is short, one-beat.

Rotacism

Types of rotacism

The opinions of researchers regarding the forms of rotacism and their number in Russian speech therapy differ. Some authors distinguish over 3 variants of sound disturbance. The most frequent and recognized by most scientists types of rotacism are:

• Uvular . During phonation, the uvular process (small uvula) trembles. A “grassing” [P] is heard, acoustically closest to a normal sound.
• Velar. The soft palate vibrates, resulting in a rough rumble. Velar and uvular rotacism is sometimes called throat [R], or burr.
• Side. Vibration of the lateral edges of the tongue is noted. You hear the sound combination "RL"
• Cheek. A jet of air passes between the cheeks and the edges of the tongue, causing one or both cheeks to vibrate. With this type of rotacism, noise is added to the tone of the voice.
• Single-strike ( protorny ). The tongue is in the correct position, but vibration does not occur. It turns out a sound acoustically close to English [D].
• Bilabial (bilabial, "coachman"). Lips vibrate, tongue is motionless. With bilabial rotacism, "PRR" is heard.
• Nasal. A jet of air exits through the nose, the tip of the tongue is not involved in articulation. The audible sound is close to the distorted combination "NG".
• Guttural. Close to velar rotacism, but the sound is more muffled, similar to a slotted sound [Г].

Diagnostics

Rotacism is diagnosed during the assessment of speech status. In a preliminary conversation with the child's parents or an adult suffering from this speech problem, a speech therapist finds out anamnestic information, language status (monolingual, bilingual). Then sequentially carried out:

• Examination of organs of articulation. During the examination, the structure of the lips, dentition, tongue, hard and soft palate is assessed. Existing deviations (absence of teeth, malocclusion, short frenulum, facial clefts, etc.) indicate the cause of rotacism. Then the muscle tone is determined: the presence of spasticity, paresis of the muscles of the oral and facial muscles, dystonia.
• Study of the mobility of the articulatory apparatus. For the articulation of the sonor [P], precise movements of the tongue and lips are important. During the performance of special exercises, the volume, pace, accuracy, switchability of movements, the ability to maintain an articulatory position are determined.
• The study of phonemic hearing. To correctly understand the cause of rotacism (motor or sensory insufficiency), to identify a secondary violation of auditory differentiation, a test of speech hearing is performed. Explore the differentiation of sounds isolated, at the level of syllables, words.
• Sound examination. The presence and correct pronunciation of sounds is checked in isolation and in different positions in the word. During the diagnosis, it is necessary to accurately determine the type of rotacism - the corrective route will depend on this.

In some cases, in order to develop the correct strategy for eliminating rotacism, an additional dental examination (teleroentgenography, diagnostic casts) or neurological diagnostics (ENMG, MRI of the brain) is required.

Logopedic massage

Correction

Correction of rotacism is carried out by speech therapy means. In some cases, medical attention may be required. So, if with the help of special exercises it is not possible to stretch the frenulum of the tongue, they resort to its surgical plasticity. In case of malocclusion, the orthodontist prescribes the wearing of removable appliances, braces or aligners. Correction of the dysarthria component in the child's speech is more effective against the background of drug therapy prescribed by a neurologist.

The main work to eliminate rotacism is carried out in the speech therapist's office. It includes several periods: preparatory, sound production, its automation and introduction to speech.

Preparation period

A child or adult suffering from rotacism is introduced to the correct articulation when pronouncing the sounds [P] and [P ']. To do this, visualization is used (articulation profiles, dummies of the oral cavity). The speech therapist repeatedly pronounces an isolated sound, makes associations with the “engine growl” or “tiger roar”.

In parallel, work is underway on the formation of the correct structure of the articulation organs and the development of directed exhalation. The main tasks of articulation gymnastics:

• development of the upper lift of the tongue (exercises "Malyar", "Delicious jam", "Swing", "Turkey");
• activation of the tip of the tongue ("Woodpecker", "Brushing teeth", "Iron");
• calling the vibration of the tongue ("Komarik");
• stretching of the hyoid ligament (exercises "Fungus", "Sail", "Horse", "Accordion").

In parallel, breathing exercises are performed, if necessary, speech therapy massage. Articulation and breathing exercises with rotacism must be practiced not only in speech therapy classes, but also at home at least 2 times a day. The preparatory stage continues until the child learns to hold the desired articulatory position and exhale a strong directed air stream.

Sound staging

With various variants of rotacism, it is advisable to use differentiated sound production techniques. Normal pronunciation can be achieved in the following ways:

• by imitation (depict the cawing of a crow, the roar of a motor, the growl of a tiger);
• from reference sounds [Д], [Ж], upper lingual [З];
• from the sound combinations "td", "j", the syllable "for";
• from articulation exercises ("Fungus", "Sail", "Woodpecker", "Camel");
• with mechanical aid (most common). Vibration of the tip of the tongue is induced using a staging probe or probe substitute.

Sometimes (for example, with buccal rotacism), the sound is put in 2 stages: first they achieve a protonous sound, then they move on to the production of a vibrational component. In extreme cases (when normative sounding is unattainable), compensatory articulation is resorted to. The soft sound [Р ′] is evoked after the automation of a hard phoneme by combining it with iotated vowels or [I].

Automation

Fixing the correct sound pronunciation is carried out with a gradual complication of speech material. First, syllables are used, syllabic series (direct, reverse, with consonant clusters). Then they move on to words where the sound is in different positions (at the beginning in a stressed position, at the end and in the middle of a word). Then they work out phrases and sentences, tongue twisters saturated with the sound [R]. In conclusion, poems and stories are taken into work.

The duration of the full cycle of rotacism correction can vary over a wide range (from 1.5 to 3 months and longer). It depends on many factors: the cause of the disorder, the functional capabilities of the child, the interest of the parents, the regularity of classes, the skill of the speech therapist, the need for concomitant treatment. The most difficult thing is to achieve stable correct sound pronunciation in dysarthria - in these cases, the correction of rotacism and other sound distortions can take months or even years.