Many babies are born each year in the India with cleft lip and/or palate, while others may be born with a submucous cleft palate. In addition, some children present later in childhood when they start talking, with speech that sounds as if they have a cleft palate. This is known as velopharyngeal speech disorder. Speech and language therapists play a crucial role in supporting these children and their families. They can also support adolescents and adults with these conditions
The Impact Of Cleft Lip And Palate
Cleft lip and palate can have a range of impacts.
Speech:
It can affect speech, resulting in too much air in the nasal cavity (hyper nasal resonance), air coming down the nose when talking, and articulation difficulties, such as using sounds in the throat or incorrectly making front sounds further back in the mouth (e.g. /t/ is produced as /k/).
Language Development:
It can affect language development, including the onset of talking in words and sentences being delayed and the number of words in the child’s vocabulary being smaller.
Academic Attainment:
Children with cleft lip and palate may need support to achieve their academic potential.
Feeding:
It can affect feeding- an unrepaired cleft palate makes it difficult for babies to create adequate pressure to suck. Breast feeding is difficult and most babies will be seen by specialist nurses and fed using specially adapted bottles and techniques. Ongoing velopharyngeal problems may lead to problems of food and drink coming down the nose (known as nasal regurgitation).
The Impact Of Speech And Language Therapy
• There have been improvements in speech outcomes since the centralization and specialization of cleft palate services.
• Early referral to specialist SLTs is beneficial. Early intervention has been shown to prevent later speech problems in
some cases.
• Early liaison with audiology colleagues is essential to manage the commonly found associated hearing difficulties.