The Effects of Intensive Speech Therapy on Non-oral Cleft Speech Characteristics and Quality of Life in Children With Cleft Palate

This study aimed at investigating the effects of speech intervention on Non-Oral Cleft Speech Characteristics (NCSCs), intelligibility, and Quality of Life (QoL), as well as the relationship between speech variables and QOL-related variables in intensive speech therapy among children with cleft palate.

This single-group pre-test and post-test clinical trial study was performed on 12 Persian-speaking children with cleft palate and NCSCs aged 3-7 years. For this purpose, we used 30 sessions of speech therapy and the Persian version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PPedsQL). The pre-test and post-test assessments included perceptual assessment using the CAPS-A and QoL assessment using the Parent Proxy of the Persian version of the PPedsQL. The Wilcoxon’s test was applied to analyze group differences in the NCSCs, the intelligibility of speech, the total score of PPedsQL, physical, emotional, social, and school functions before and after providing the speech therapy.

The obtained results indicated that the frequency of NCSCs, the intelligibility of speech, the total score of PPedsQL, and its subscales significantly improved after the intervention (P<0.001). However, physical function presented no significant change after intensive treatment (P= 0.15). Additionally, the frequency of NCSCs had a significant negative c with a total score of PPedsQL and subscales. The intelligibility of speech was significantly and positively related to the total score of PPedsQL and its subscales.

This study demonstrated that intensive speech therapy was an effective approach in improving the intelligibility of speech and QoL in children with cleft palates. moreover, this study revealed that speech variables were significantly related to QoL variables.