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Effectiveness of the corrective babbling speech treatment program for children with a history of cleft palate or
Objective:
To investigate the effectiveness of a phonetic-based, parent-administered treatment to reduce cleft-related speech errors.
Design:
Immediate treatment (IT) versus delayed treatment (DT) comparison followed by analysis of gains over approximately 4 months and again after a longer period of treatment for participants in both groups.
Participants:
Thirteen participants with a history of cleft palate or velopharyngeal dysfunction and speech disorder.
Intervention:
After training, parents were instructed to conduct daily 10-minute sessions of phonetic drills with their children.
Main Outcome Measures:
Group differences in percent consonants correct (PCC) were compared between those who did and those who did not receive the treatment. Pre- and posttreatment PCC comparisons were made after approximately 4 months of treatment and after termination of treatment.
Results:
Participants receiving Corrective Babbling therapy showed significant gains in PCC in limited contexts after 4 months of therapy. However, gains were not significantly greater for the IT versus DT group. Participants who continued with the treatment for longer than 4 months showed the greatest gains in PCC and had significant improvements in all speech contexts assessed. Parents reported satisfaction with the program.
Conclusions:
The results of this study indicate that this treatment shows promise for at least some children with a history of cleft palate and velopharyngeal dysfunction.
