Specificity of Articulation in Children with Cleft Lips and/or Cleft Palate

Abstract

Intelligible articulation represents a primary indicator of speech and language development. It constitutes a critical factor for effective interpersonal communication, social integration, and quality of life, which in childhood is strongly associated with the development of learning skills and academic achievement. Cleft lip and/or palate is a congenital malformation frequently linked to difficulties in speech and, in some cases, language development. Articulation is most profoundly affected, with errors that exhibit distinct characteristics. These are generally attributed to compensatory mechanisms and maladaptive motor patterns of the articulators. The objective of the present study is to determine whether articulation errors in children with cleft lip and/or palate are specific in nature and whether they are related to compensatory articulation. The sample comprised 30 individuals with different forms of the malformation, aged between 3 and 16 years (mean = 9.8; SD = 3.49), who had undergone speech therapy of varying duration. The following instruments were employed: the Diagnostic Test for Articulation and Phonology (DAF) (Boyadzhieva-Deleva, 2023), a diagnostic protocol for articulation analysis developed by the “Trusted Speech Therapists Network” of the “Association for Facial Anomalies” and a set of informal diagnostic tasks targeting oral praxis and speech perception. The results delineate the profile of articulation disorders in children with craniofacial malformations. In more than 50% of the participants, the errors identified were non-specific to cleft lip and/or palate (rhotacism, lambdacism, sigmatism). Compensatory articulatory mechanisms were observed in only 36.7% of the sample. The most frequently identified mechanism involved compensatory tongue movements intended to reduce nasal emission or the likelihood of its occurrence. In conclusion, the study outlines the predominant tendencies and error patterns that should be addressed in order to enhance overall speech quality and intelligibility in children with cleft lip and/or palate.