Speech Therapy

Will the Child Require Speech Therapy?
Because of the cleft in the roof of the mouth,children with cleft palate cannot seal off the nose when they talk.This makes their speech "hypernasal" and difficult to understand.Children who learn to talk before the palate is repaired developabnormal speech mechanisms as they try to compensate for the airleaking out through the nose. If surgery is performed at the appropriatetime, most children develop normal speech and will not require speechtherapy. However, some children may need therapy to help them "unlearn"any abnormal speech behavior which they developed to compensatefor their hypernasal speech. In addition, there are some childrenwho, despite surgery, remain unable to effectively seal off thenose when speaking. These children may require an additional surgicalprocedure known as a "pharyngeal flap" in which a strip of tissuefrom the back of the throat is used to partially close off the communicationbetween the mouth and the nose.

Does a Cleft Palate Cause Any Other Problems Other Than Problems With Speech?
Most children with cleft palate have problems with fluid behindthe eardrums and/or ear infections. This is because the eustachiantube, which runs from the middle ear to the throat, does not performits drainage function properly, allowing fluid to build-up in themiddle ear. This accumulated fluid is a breeding ground for bacteriawhich causes ear infections. Because this problem is so prevalent,tiny drainage tubes (called myringotomy tubes) are frequently placedin the eardrums at the time of palate repair surgery.