Summary
The present study was conducted on 56 cases of cleft palate and/or lip attending the Rehabilitation Unit in Audiology and Speech Pethology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Cleft palate was found to be more prevalent in males than females. 75% of the cases were below the age of 14 years, Only a few parents could give relevant history. It was, therefore, difficult to establish and generalise the causative factors. 29% of the cleft palate cases had mild to moderate degree of hearing loss. About 42% of the cases had undergone palate surgery and 35% both the lip and palate surgery. Many cases reported late for surgical treatment. Velar sounds among all the consonants were found to be substituted most and fricatives were distorted. Distortion was the most common defective articulatory pattern in the cleft palate cases while omissions were least affected. There has been numerous investigations designed to describe the speech articulation on cleft palate. The studies vary in terms of subjects used and the methods of assessment. Yet there is a general agreement on this problem. Plosives, fricatives and consonants which require building up of maximum oral pressure are the most affected sounds in cleft palate speech.
