title: The Role of the Velopharyngeal Sphincter in the Speech of Patients with Cleft Palate or Cleft Lip and Palate Using Perceptual Methods.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The velopharyngeal sphincter (VPS) plays the main role in speech formation. The cleft palate, due to the damage of the soft palate, leads to dysfunction of the velopharyngeal sphincter thus causing speech disorder.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To establish a link between the nasal air escape and the perceptual symptoms in the speech of patients with cleft palate or cleft lip and palate using auditory-visual perceptual procedures for determining the influence the velopharyngeal dysfunction has on speech.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty patients with speech disorders, out of which 10 have cleft palate or cleft lip and palate (experimental group), participated in the perceptual assessment by means of Czermak mirror fogging test for assessing the nasal air escape and Pittsburgh Weighted Speech Scale (PWSS) for assessing the probable nature of the velopharyngeal sphincter.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The respondents with a considerable nasal air escape have a higher velopharyngeal inability, that is, probably incompetent nature of the velopharyngeal sphincter. There is a strong correlation between the nasal air escape and the probable nature of the velopharyngeal sphincter (the coefficient of linear correlation r = 0.9756). The calculated p-value is p = 0.000002.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The perceptual speech symptoms and the nasal air escape provide unique insight into the state and role the velopharyngeal sphincter has in speech.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Rehabilitation of Hearing, Speech and Voice, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.
authors.forename: Tatjana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Georgievska-Jancheska
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry Skopje, Ss Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gjorgova
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry Skopje, Ss Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.
authors.forename: Mirjana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Popovska
keywords: Czermak mirror fogging test; PWSS; cleft palate; velopharyngeal dysfunction; velopharyngeal sphincter