Logopēda darbs pirmsskolā Covid-19 pandēmijas laikā

Abstract

In March 2020, World Health Organization announced that Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a worldwide pandemic. Trying to curb the spread of the disease many countries, including Latvia, announced emergency measures, including lockdowns. As the situation surrounding Covid-19 developed, Ministry of Education and Science created various suggestions on how to organise the education process during a coronavirus pandemic, however, these did not cover the work of speech therapists. Language is an important indicator of quality of life and helps to achieve personal and social goals. Therefore, it is especially important to provide speech therapy assistance to children with speech and language disorders at preschool and it is offered in vast majority of preschool educational institutions in Latvia. At present, the course of speech therapy work has been significantly affected by the restrictions that are being implemented in the field of education in Latvia to reduce the spread of Covid-19. In order to understand the effects of Covid-19 restrictions on the work of speech therapists in Latvia, a study Speech therapy intervention in preschool education institutions during Covid-19 pandemic was conducted in April 2021. The questions of the study covered various aspects of managing and performing day to day activities such as conducting speech therapy sessions and communicating with parents before and during the pandemic. Additionally, the study enquired about the use of epidemiological measures and social distancing in preschool speech therapy classes during Covid-19 pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic, which created an unprecedented situation, has had a significant impact on society, including most families with children, through both distance learning and various epidemiological constraints. In order to provide preschool children with speech and language skills, timely, individualized and high-quality assistance from a speech therapist is required, however, the current situation has necessitated continuous adaption. Therefore, speech therapists in Latvia have used a variety of creative solutions to keep providing preschool children with the assistance they require to thrive.