The relationship between the characteristics of speech and velopharyngeal gap size

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceptual characteristics of hypernasality, nasal emission and nasal rustle, and size of the velopharyngeal gap.

A retrospective medical chart review.

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Subjects were patients of the Craniofacial Anomaly Team. All were between ages 3 and 12 years and diagnosed with velopharyngeal dysfunction secondary to cleft palate +/- cleft lip. A total of 173 charts were reviewed.

Speech characteristics were assessed perceptually by an experienced speech-language pathologist. Following that assessment, velopharyngeal closure was evaluated using videofluoroscopy, nasopharyngoscopy, or both.

Based on the perceptual ratings alone, 21 subjects were diagnosed with nasal rustle only, 27 had hypernasality with nasal rustle, 89 had hypernasality with nasal emission without nasal rustle, and 36 had hypernasality with no audible nasal emission. An ordinal logit regression was conducted and showed that moderate and severe hypernasality contributed significantly to the prediction of a large gap size; nasal rustle contributed significantly to prediction of a small gap size. Perceptual characteristics of speech correctly predicted gap size for 121 of the 173 subjects (70%).

This investigation revealed that some information regarding velopharyngeal gap size may be predicted from the speech assessment alone. Confidence in the prediction is strongest if the patient has nasal rustle, suggesting a small gap, or if the patient has moderate to severe hypernasality, which is more commonly associated with a large opening.