Development of speech by promoting the development of synapses in the brain according to the principles of the NTC programme

"It all depends on the synapses," says Ranko Rajović, the author of the NTC programme (Nurture of Talented Children). To create synaptic connections between neurons, an early period and a stimulating environment are very important, which adults should be very well aware of if we want children to develop their biological potentials as much as possible (Banjanac, 2013). It often happens that adults do not understand the importance of games, such as rotating around the axis, jumping, skipping, crawling, games for the development of thought processes, etc., and prevent the children from performing them (Rajović, 2015), so I decided to test some motor activities in accordance with the principles of the NTC programme that promote the development of synapses in the brain, and to check how these affect the development of speech in a child aged 2 to 3 years. The diploma work entitled Development of speech by promoting the development of synapses in the brain according to the principles of the NTC programme, consists of theoretical and empirical work. In the theoretical part, I presented the curriculum and interdepartmental integration, focusing on the speech and movement area in the pre-school period. I presented the NTC-learning program with a description of the development of the program, a methodology focusing on the first phase of the program and a link to the Kindergarten Curriculum (1999). In the practical part, I compared two groups of children aged 2 to 3 years. In the experimental group, I conducted exercises on a daily basis for two months according to the principles of the NTC-approach, which promote the development of synapses in the brain. I did no exercises with the children in the control group. I focused on physical exercise (exercises of rotation, balance exercises) and accommodation exercises according to the principles of the NTC programme. In planning and implementing the activities, I followed a methodical approach and followed these principles and methods: the principle of daily training, the principle of gradual loading, the principle of repetition, the principle of awareness, the principle of clarity, the principle of versatility, the principle of educational orientation and the synthetic or comprehensive method. The aim of the diploma work is to examine the assessment scale of speech and to find out, to what extent physical and accommodation exercises, according to the principles of the NTC approach, influence the development of speech. I examined the children's speech capabilities with the assessment scale in both groups before the start of the activities and after 2 months. I compared the initial child's speech abilities to the final ones and interpreted the results