Speech outcomes in 5-year-old Korean children with bilateral cleft lip and palate

Background: Among the cleft types, bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP) generally requires multiple surgical procedures and extended speech therapy to achieve normal speech development. This study aimed to describe speech outcomes in 5-year-old Korean children with BCLP and examine whether normal speech could be achieved before starting school. Methods: The retrospective study analyzed 52 children with complete BCLP who underwent primary palatal surgery at Seoul Asan Medical Center. Three speech-language pathologists made perceptual judgments on recordings from a speech follow-up assessment of 5-year-old children. They assessed the children’s speech in terms of articulation, speech intelligibility, resonance, and voice using the Cleft Audit Protocol for Speech-Augmented-Korean Modification. Results: The results indicated that at the age of five, 65%–70% of children with BCLP presented articulation and resonance within normal or acceptable ranges. Further, seven children with BCLP (13.5%) needed both additional speech therapy and palatal surgery for persistent velopharyngeal insufficiency and speech problems even at the age of five. Conclusions: This study confirmed that routine follow-up speech assessments are essential as a substantial number of children with BCLP require secondary surgical procedures and extended speech therapy to achieve normal speech development.