Background. In modern inclusive education, the need to explore opportunities for preserving and strengthening the cognitive health of children with varying levels of speech development becomes particularly important. Special attention is paid to children with speech disorders who do not fall under the category of disabilities, but who experience difficulties in perceiving information and assimilating programs. Polymodal perception, being a basic cognitive function, is closely related to a child’s speech and mental development. It is important to note that older preschool age is the most favorable period for the correction of these processes due to the neuroplasticity of the brain. That is why the development of preventive and rehabilitation measures aimed at strengthening interanalytical connections and the integration of sensory modalities is becoming an important area for improving the quality of education and speech therapy.
Objective. The study examines the functional state of polymodal perception and the possibilities of its psycho-regulation in the educational process among older preschool children in an inclusive environment.
Sample. The study involved 349 children aged 6–7 from kindergartens in the Irkutsk region, with both typical and impaired speech development.
Methods. To assess speech and characterize speech development, a methodology based on the guidelines of O.B. Inshakova (Inshakova, 2022) was used. The diagnostics of polymodal perception by I.Yu. Murashova (Murashova, 2018) were applied, identifying the dominant modality, the degree of activity in non-dominant modalities, and the child’s functional individual profile of polymodal perception: Harmonious (sufficient interaction between dominant and subdominant modalities in the perception process, creating a complete polymodal image); Disharmonious-selective (with selective emphasis on the dominant modality); Disharmonious-inert (with fixation on the dominant modality).
Results. The study examined the features of polymodal perception in older preschoolers with different levels of speech development in inclusive education. At the ascertaining stage, disharmonies in the structure of perception were revealed, which served as the basis for the formative experiment. Experimental training was aimed at psychoregulation of perception through the creation of a special information environment without changing the program content. The essence of creating an information educational environment was that monomodal and multisensory methods of information presentation were used in the classroom instead of traditional verbal methods. The results of the control stage showed that without targeted impact, compensation for violations is weak. At the same time, the high effectiveness of rehabilitation measures aimed at strengthening children’s cognitive health through strengthening the integrative activity of sensory modalities has been proven.
Conclusions. Data were obtained on the holistic structure of polymodal perception in children aged 6–7, both under typical conditions and in cases of speech development pathogenesis. The developed approaches contribute to a more successful development of educational programs and increase the effectiveness of speech therapy. The study has important practical significance, since the proposed methods can be used in preschool educational institutions to support children with speech development problems.