Spectrographic measures of the speech of young children with cleft lip and cleft palate.
Twenty-two consecutive children with repaired cleft lip and/or palate [isolated cleft lip (CL) 6, isolated cleft palate (CP) 7, unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) 7, and bilateral cleft lip and palate 2] with a mean age of 27 months underwent spectrographic measures of tape-recorded speech (DSP Sona-Graph digital unit). Controls were 22 age- and sex-matched noncleft children. Data analyzed included (1) the Spanish vocalic variables [a, i, u, e, o]: first formant, second formant, duration, and context; (2) obstruent variables [p, t, k]: burst, voice onset time, and duration, and (3) nasal variables [m]: first formant, second formant, and duration. Statistically significant differences were observed between the CL group and the control group in the first formant of [e] and in the increase of the frequency of the [t] burst. Comparison between UCLP and controls showed differences in the second formant of [a], in the first formant of [o], and in the second formant of [o]. These results suggest a small but significant influence of either the cleft lip or its repair on lip rounding for [o] and [u]. In addition, tongue position differences were most likely responsible for the differences seen with [a] and [e]. Spectrographic differences in the current patients did not contribute to meaningful differences in speech sound development. Individualized care (orthodontics, surgery, speech therapy) in children with cleft lip and/or palate attended at specialized craniofacial units contributes to normalization of speech development.
Casal
C
C
Department of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain.
Domínguez
C
C
Fernández
A
A
Sarget
R
R
Martínez-Celdrán
E
E
Sentís-Vilalta
J
J
Gay-Escoda
C
C
D001184:Articulation Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011184:Postoperative Period; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013018:Sound Spectrography / Q000295:instrumentation