Articulation proficiency and error pattern of cleft palate children with delayed hard palate closure

Prior to 1982, children with cleft palate received delayed hard palate closure at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. In this treatment, soft palate is usually repaired with Widmaier palatoplasty at about 18 months with surgery; hard palate is not closed until the age of 6 or 7. Our previous study indicated that the articulation skill of the cleft palate children before delayed hard palate closure is generally far inferior to the non-cleft children of the same age. Further investigation was carried out to look into the articulation proficiency and error patterns of the cleft palate children undergoing delayed hard palate closure. Data of 47 children (32 boys, 15 girls) were analyzed. Articulation proficiency was compared in four phoneme categories: nasals, plosives, fricatives and affricates. The results indicated that affricates are most difficult for Chinese cleft palate children to pronounce. At age 5, just before the hard palate closure, none of the phonemes is produced correctly except nasals.