“…Perceptual ratings of speech recordings included hypernasality (none, mild, moderate, or severe), audible nasal air emission (none, mild, moderate, or severe), and intraoral pressure (normal or decreased; Sie et al, 2001; Deren et al, 2005; Perkins et al, 2005; Henningsson et al, 2008; Denadai et al, 2017; Denadai et al, 2018a; Denadai et al, 2018b). The velopharyngeal gap size during maximal closure on phonation (produce sustained “s” sounds) was rated as complete velopharyngeal closure, pinhole (demonstrated by mucus bubbling), small (velopharyngeal closure >80% and <100%), moderate (velopharyngeal closure between 50% and 80%), or large (velopharyngeal closure <50%; Sie et al, 2001; Deren et al, 2005; Perkins et al, 2005; Henningsson et al, 2008; Denadai et al, 2017; Denadai et al, 2018a; Denadai et al, 2018b). The 3 speech parameters (hypernasality, audible nasal air emission, and intraoral pressure) were combined to form the overall velopharyngeal competence that was graded as normal, borderline competent, borderline insufficient, or insufficient, as previously described (Sullivan et al, 2010; Wermker et al, 2014; Park et al, 2016; Denadai et al, 2017; Denadai et al, 2018a; Denadai et al, 2018b).…”