Lexical Selectivity of 2-Year-Old Children With and Without Repaired Cleft Palate Based on Parent Report

Abstract

Objective: To determine vocabulary and lexical selectivity characteristics of children with and without repaired cleft palate at 24 months of age, based on parent report. Participants: Forty-nine children with repaired cleft palate, with or without cleft lip (CP±L; 25 males; 21 cleft lip and palate, 28 CP only), 29 children with a history of otitis media (OM) and ventilation tubes (21 males), and 25 typically developing (TD) children (13 males). Main Outcome Measure(s): Parent-reported expressive vocabulary was determined using the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory: Words and Sentences. Results: Vocabulary size was reduced for children with repaired CP±L compared to children in the TD group ( P = .025) but not the OM group ( P = .403). Mean percentage of words beginning with sonorants did not differ across groups ( P = .383). Vocabulary size predicted sonorant use for all groups ( P = .001). Conclusions: Children with repaired CP±L exhibit similar lexical selectivity relative to word initial sounds compared to noncleft TD and OM peers at 24 months of age, based on parent report.