Early Assessment of Speech: Useful Clinical Indicators of Later Outcomes

Abstract

Children born with cleft lip and/or palate are at risk of speech problems. These may be related to nasality or to articulation difficulties. In many countries specialist speech and language therapists monitor these children from an early age. For clinicians and families, it is useful to know which children are at risk of later problems so that resources can be allocated appropriately, and families given clear information. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether it was possible to identify risk factors at age 12-months in a clinical setting. Speech assessments from 3-years were compared to findings at 12-months. The following speech variables were analyzed: canonical babbling, presence of anterior plosives and presence of cleft articulation errors. The findings showed that the presence of anterior plosives at 12-months was a predictor of later velopharyngeal function and articulation. These findings support the need for early assessment to determine the provision of early speech therapy intervention for children with cleft lip and/or palate.