Spectrographic Measures of the Speech of Young Children with Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate

Abstract

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.

Spectral analysis of word-initial alveolar and velar plosives produced by Iranian children with cleft lip and palate

“…Children with repaired CLP are known to have difficulty producing lingual-alveolar articulations (Casal et al, 2002;Gibbon, 2004;Gibbon & Crampin, 2001;Gibbon, Ellis, & Crampin, 2004;Okazaki, Kato, & Onizuka, 1991;Santelmann, Sussman, & Chapman, 1999;Trost, 1981;Yamashita & Michi, 1991;Zajac, Cevidanes, Shah, & Haley, 2012). Using radiographic procedures, Trost (1981) identified middorsum palatal stops substituted for alveolar and velar stops by English speakers.…”

Unilateral Dudak Damak Yarıklı Çocuklarda Konuşmanın Spektrografik Ölçümleri ve Odyolojik Bulguları

“…Difficulties in speech development have extensively been documented in children with clefts. Such problems may result in poor self-esteem and in impairment of psychosocial development of children (3). The relation between cleft type and speech in children with clefts continues to capture the attention of cleft palate teams, in part to gain a more complete understanding of the impact of cleft type on speech intelligibility and in part to improve the ability to assess and manage cleft palate children (4) Examination of the speech production abilities of children with cleft palate before and after palatal surgery provides a unique opportunity to see how the developing system restructures itself from both a motor and phonological perspective (5).…”

“…The results of spectrographic measures will provide further information about differences between children with and without clefts. Spectrography can also be useful in the assessment of early results of treatment and in the follow-up of patients'with craniofacial anomalies, or as an outcome measure in cohort studies (3).…”

Impact of Obturation of Palatal Fistulae on Speech Quality and Aerodynamic Parameters in Patients with Cleft Palates

“…One mechanism is the direct consequence of the fistula on speech physiology, corresponding to an augmentation of nasal airflow promoting hypernasality and/or nasal emission, as well as the reduction of intraoral pressure required for the production of obstruent consonants (stops, fricatives and affricates) [10,13,14]. A second mechanism is the compensatory modification of tongue location induced by the presence of the fistula and/or the residual velopharyngeal insufficiency, which results in articulation problems [10,14,15]. The resulting speech disorders are included in the complex field of speech sound acquisition, dominated by a determining principle: the fact that we talk to be understood [16].…”