title: [A preliminary study on the consonant articulation of older patients with cleft palate].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the consonant pronunciation characteristics of older unoperated cleft palate patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred unoperated cleft palate patients (more than 8 years old) were included. Subjective speech assessment was delivered to each patient. The incidence and distribution of varies consonant misarticulation errors consisting of manners and places of articulation were summarized.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Consonant misarticulation existed among 86% of all cases. Compensatory misarticulation was observed in 66% patients, while 14% patients demonstrated completely normal articulation. The articulation manners of the highest correction rate, in succession, were nasals, lateral, fricatives, stops, and affricates. The error type of stops and affricates mainly consisted of compensation and omission. The articulation places of the highest correction rate, in succession, were bilabial, alveolar, linguadental, and velar.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Compensatory, omission, and substitution, which happen in all the stops, fricatives and affricates, are the top three misarticulation. The misarticulation incidence of unaspirated sound is higher than that of aspirated. Compensatory errors a the most common ones in aspirated sounds, while omission and weak pressure are more frequent in unaspirated sounds. Weak pressure is mainly observed in unaspirated consonants. As the articulation spot move backward, the compensation of fricatives and stops deteriorate, the omission of affricates increase.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, Dept. of Cleft Lip and Palate, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
authors.forename: Heng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Chunli
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Shufan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D001184:Articulation Disorders; D002972:Cleft Palate; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male