Songs from the Outback: The Effectiveness of Music in Treating Articulation Disorders in Children Aged 2–5 Years with Cleft Palate and Velopharyngeal Dysfunction

Abstract

The Royal Children's Hospital Speech Pathology Department (RCH SPD) provides services to children with Cleft Palate (CP) and velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD) in a geographical region that is more than twice the size of Texas, with 30% of the children residing in regional areas. The geographical distribution of the population means that many families are unable to access local speech therapy. To address this problem, the RCH SPD and Music Therapy departments (MTD) collaborated to create a clinical resource for regional children and families. The package is intended to facilitate an increase in children's consonant inventory, frequency of vocalizations, vocabulary, and communicative opportunity and increase oral airflow during speech. It is also intended to facilitate family-centered care and increase the parent and child's motivation to participate in speech therapy activities within the home environment. The clinical resource has now been distributed to 70 children with cleft palate in Queensland. This paper presents results of preliminary evaluation of the program and explores the use of music to facilitate speech sound stimulation for children with CP and VPD aged 2–5 years. This resource will be of interest to speech therapists and families with limited or no access to services.