Early Language Development and Phonetic Repertoire in Children with Unrepaired Cleft Lip and Palate: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Background: The development of pre-speech vocalizations, from the period of canonical babbling, is important for a child to develop speech and language. This is the stage when infants produce strings of consonant-vowel combinations with adult-like intonation patterns. Aims: The current study was aimed at analyzing the vocalizations of children with unrepaired cleft palate to compare the distribution of consonants, vowels, and syllable structures; and the development of receptive and expressive language with respect to age and gender matched typically developing children. Materials and Methods: Vocalizations of 10 children between 11 and 18 months of age with and without cleft of the palate were recorded during play and interaction with their mothers. One thousand utterances were transcribed using International Phonetic Alphabets by a speech language pathologist and analyzed for the above parameters. Language development was assessed using three-dimensional language acquisition test. Statistical Analysis: Mann-Whitney test was used to analyze the significance of differences between the two groups. Results: Statistically significant differences were obtained in the distribution of vowels and consonants among the utterances. The pattern of consonants and vowels noticed in children with cleft reflected the effects of structural constraints on sound production. An expressive language delay of 2-6 months was evidenced among children with cleft, though not statistically significant. Conclusion: Differences in prespeech vocalizations are noticed in children with cleft compared to typically developing children. The results highlighted the need for early intervention in children with cleft palate.