Nasalance scores of children with repaired cleft palate who exhibit normal velopharyngeal closure during aerodynamic testing

To determine if children with repaired cleft palate and normal velopharyngeal (VP) closure as determined by aerodynamic testing exhibit greater acoustic nasalance than control children without cleft palate.

Pressure-flow procedures were used to identify 2 groups of children based on VP closure during the production of /p/ in the word hamper: (a) children with repaired cleft palate and normal VP closure ( n = 23) and (b) controls without cleft palate and with normal VP closure ( n = 16). Acoustic nasalance scores were obtained for all children during the production of syllables with high-pressure consonants and sentences with low-pressure consonants (i.e., low-pressure sentences).

Nasalance scores were generally higher for children with repaired cleft palate and normal VP function as compared to controls; however, a significant difference occurred only for low-pressure sentences ( p = .005).

Results partially support a pressure-sensitive theory of VP function in that some children with repaired cleft palate may achieve VP closure during the production of high-pressure consonants but fail to do so during the production of vowels and low-pressure consonants. Clinical implications are discussed.