Influences on the Early Speech of Children with a Cleft Palate: Hearing Loss and Intervention

If baby’s with a Cleft Palate are treated early, in the first year of life, for problems in speech perception (oral as well as auditory), a more normal speech and language production at the age of two years is found than in case such treatment is not given at all or late, in the second year of life. In our study 30 two-year old children with a Cleft Palate were examined. Some children with a complete cleft were treated from birth on with an oral plate. Some children with a Cleft Palate got middle ear drains in their first year or later. Children with both forms of intervention and early treatment in the first year of life showed normal values on lexical and phonological tests. These children were able to build up normal mental representations of speech and language at a time when the brain is sensitive for sensory input, integration and cognitive linguistic organization.