Parent questionnaire for screening early language development in children with cleft palate

This study investigated the efficacy of a parent questionnaire as a component for screening early language development of children 16 to 30 months of age with cleft lip and palate. Thirty nonsyndromic children with cleft lip and palate and 30 children without clefts received the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory: Toddler (CDI: Toddler), administered by a pediatrician. In addition, a speech-language screening was performed by a speech-language pathologist. Results of the two assessments indicated that the CDI:Toddler was a valid screener of language development when compared with a comprehensive speech-language screening. Language and speech characteristics of the subject populations are discussed. In particular, differences between the cleft and noncleft groups demonstrated evidence of delays in expressive language development in the children with cleft lip and palate.