Psychomotor Development in 2-4-Year-Old Children with Delayed Speech Development and Its Relationship with The Amount of Screen Time

Introduction. Delayed speech development (DSD) is a massive violation of speech ontogenesis at an early age, which is currently diagnosed in a significant part of modern children. The paper analyzes the negative impact of passive screen time on psychomotor development and describes the feedback mechanism: behavioral difficulties of a child with visual impairment force parents to use gadgets as a means of control, which perpetuates negative dynamics and hinders correction.

Objective. To identify the relationship between indicators of psychomotor maturity in children with diagnosed DSD aged 2-4 years and the amount of screen time.

Methods and materials. The study involved 79 families with children aged 2-4 years (37 children with RRR, 42-the control group). To collect data, we used the author's questionnaire for parents, which studies the time of using gadgets by children (viewing screens and background noise), and the psychodiagnostic method "GNOME" by G. V. Kozlovskaya, which allows us to comprehensively assess psychomotor development, including sensory profile, motor skills, cognitive sphere, speech and social interaction.

Results. Correlation analysis revealed that both regular screen time and the use of TV as background noise significantly negatively correlate with the level of psychomotor development in 2-4-year-old children with DSD. In particular, regular screen time shows a negative relationship with the overall level of psychomotor development and its components, including sensory, motor, cognitive (including speech) and social development. The use of TV as background noise also negatively correlates with all the above components, as well as with the emotional-volitional sphere.

Discussion. Difficulties in interacting with children with DSD force parents to use gadgets as a means of calming down, which deprives the child of a full-fledged speech experience and increases violations. There is a "vicious circle": a lack of development leads to an excess of screens, and those – to an even greater aggravation of the defect. Interrupting this dynamic requires greening the family media environment and developing personalized strategies that take into account the individual characteristics of the child and the family situation.

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