Cleft palate (Resonance Disorders)

What Is Cleft palate (Resonance Disorders)?

Cleft lips and palates develop during pregnancy. Cleft lip and palate can also affect adults, especially if the condition isn’t noticed and isn’t treated in childhood. Clefts can happen anywhere on the palate or lip. A person can also have a submucous, or hidden, cleft palate.
Testing for speech and/or hearing issues because of cleft lip and palate is usually done by a team in a healthcare setting. Physicians and other medical professionals work together with the family to find out (a) what kind of cleft it is; (b) if speech, hearing, and feeding are affected; and (c) what types of services may help.
Speech and feeding testing is sometimes done in early childhood when a child’s speech difficulties are first noticed. A Speech Therapist can assess articulation and resonance to determine if the child may possibly have a cleft palate. It is important to monitor the hearing status of a child with cleft lip and palate by hearing tests if the child has frequent ear infections or has extra fluid in the ears (this happens a lot to people who have a cleft palate).
Children with a cleft palate have articulation and resonance disorders that they need Speech Therapy. Also, Speech Therapists work with people on feeding and swallowing skills. Babies with a cleft lip probably won’t have trouble feeding, but babies with a cleft palate might. Babies with a cleft palate may have trouble breastfeeding, and they may need special bottles or nipples if they bottle-feed. Speech Therapists can help you find the best bottle-and-nipple combination.