Abstract:

We frequently encounter with individuals in the field of special educational intervention, who to a significant extent experience the degrading quality of life, possibly due to severe congenital disability (e.g. DMO) or as a result of multiple trauma, stroke, progressive neurological disease etc. that undermine the quality of life for individuals with the above diagnoses.

One of the ways in which we can therapeutically help to optimise tactile, vibratory, vestibular as well as visual, auditory, olfactory and taste (oral) perception, as well as to develop communication between individuals with disabilities and their surroundings, is the concept of basal stimulation.

It is a concept which is defined as a concept that supports the overall development of an individual, their ability to interact and communicate with others. The author of this concept is Professor Dr. Andreas Fröhlich (a special education teacher), who used the concept to promote the development of children with severe combined somatic and intellectual disabilities. Later this concept was transferred into nursing care by Professor Christel Bienstein.

In the Czech Republic the Institute of Basal Stimulation was founded 15 years ago. Its staff is dedicated to introducing the concept of basal stimulation in special education and among other things the nursing theory and especially the practice. Despite their efforts, the issue of implementing the concept of basal stimulation in special education (or speech therapy) intervention is an issue that has not been adequately described in professional literature written in Czech.

The presented professional text describes the results of a specific research, which was conducted at special primary schools (400 special educational facilities) and in out-patient units for clinical speech therapy (200 medical facilities) in the Czech Republic in 2015, using a questionnaire survey. The aim of the research was to comprehensively map the use of basal stimulation in special education (especially speech therapy) intervention, since the concept of BS also integrates the features harmonising the breathing of people with disabilities (e.g. massage stimulating respiration), as well as the elements concerning oral stimulation and orofacial spot stimulation, whose application leads to a strengthening of the communication skills of individuals with disabilities and severely impaired communication abilities, and these can be considered as the integral part of the modern conception of the speech therapy concept and high-quality speech intervention provided for individuals with motor speech modality impairments.

Keywords:

Basal stimulation, concept, education, intervention, speech therapy.