Reading in children with orofacial clefts versus controls.

OBJECTIVE To examine reading and related skills in children with and without orofacial clefts. METHODS Forty-two children with orofacial clefts were recruited from an urban craniofacial center. A demographically similar sample of 43 children without clefts was recruited using community advertisements and a research registry. Participants completed assessments of basic reading, phonological awareness, phonological memory, reading fluency, and rapid naming. Parents completed a semi-structured interview regarding educational and medical history. RESULTS Children with clefts scored significantly lower than controls on measures of basic reading, phonological memory, and reading fluency. CONCLUSIONS This is one of the first studies of reading in children with orofacial clefts to include a control sample. The findings suggest that children with clefts are less adept readers than demographically matched peers without clefts, supporting the need to monitor academic achievement in this population.