Electropalatographic investigation of abnormal lingual-palatal contact patterns in cleft palate patients

Lingual-palatal contact patterns and auditorily judged misarticulations, classed as palatalized misarticulation (PM), lateral misarticulation (LM), nasopharyngeal misarticulation (NM), and other distortions were compared in 53 Japanese cleft palate patients. Velopharyngeal function of these patients was considered within normal limits. Contact patterns were recorded by electropalatography (EPG) in an attempt to objectively categorize the misarticulations of cleft palate speakers including those previously reported in English. It is concluded that these lingual-palatal contact patterns are characterized by a broader and/or more posterior pattern than found in normal speakers, although considerable variability was noted.