| Title: |
Rethinking speech sound disorder (SSD) in non‐syndromic cleft lip and palate: The importance of recognizing phonological and language difficulties |
| Authors: |
van Eeden, Stephanie; McKean, Cristina; Stringer, Helen |
| Contributors: |
National Institute for Health and Care Research |
| Source: |
International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders ; volume 60, issue 1 ; ISSN 1368-2822 1460-6984 |
| Publisher Information: |
Wiley |
| Publication Year: |
2025 |
| Collection: |
Wiley Online Library (Open Access Articles via Crossref) |
| Description: |
Background Children born with cleft palate ± lip (CP ± L) are at risk of speech sound disorder (SSD). Up to 40% continue to have SSD at age 5–6 years. These difficulties are typically described as articulatory in nature and often include cleft speech characteristics (CSC) hypothesized to result from structural differences. In non‐CP ± L SSD comorbidity with language difficulties is often reported. There is growing evidence of concomitant language difficulties in children with CP ± L and of a higher prevalence of developmental speech errors in children compared with non‐CP ± L peers. The impact of underlying phonological and language skills on speech production in children with CP ± L is poorly understood. Aims To investigate language outcomes in children with CP ± L and the relationship to speech production, by answering the following research questions: (1) Does the profile of language skills in children with CP ± L differ from normative samples? (2) Do children with CP ± L and SSD have poorer language skills than those with typically developing speech? (3) Is there an association between language skills and speech profile in children with CP ± L at age 5–8 years? Methods & Procedures In this prospective cross‐sectional, observational study, 95 participants were recruited from regional cleft lip and palate services in the UK. They were aged 5;0–7;11 with non‐syndromic CP ± L. Those with a syndromic diagnosis, global learning disability, sensorineural hearing loss and first language other than English were excluded. Assessments of speech (Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology—DEAP) and language (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals—5th UK edition—CELF) were completed. Language outcomes were analysed and compared with normative samples and according to speech error analysis. Outcomes & Results Average language scores were within the expected range. For those presenting with SSD, language scores were significantly lower than those with typically developing speech. Analysis of ... |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| DOI: |
10.1111/1460-6984.13151 |
| Availability: |
https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.13151; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1460-6984.13151 |
| Rights: |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.11AFD2F4 |
| Database: |
BASE |