What are the three main roles of the SLP on a cleft palate surgical mission?
Establish correct articulation (placement, manner, and voicing) using articulation therapy techniques. Ensure there is good oral pressure during sound production. Establish new motor speech patterns that replace speech sound errors.
How do you assess a newborn’s palate?
Healthcare professionals will carry out a visual examination of your baby’s palate to check your baby’s palate is normal. The best way to do this is by using a torch and pressing down the baby’s tongue so the whole of the baby’s palate can be seen.
How is cleft palate diagnosed?
Most cases of cleft lip and cleft palate are noticed right away at birth and don’t require special tests for diagnosis. Increasingly, cleft lip and cleft palate are seen on ultrasound before the baby is born.
What are interventions in speech therapy?
In speech and language interventions, widespread use is made of pictorial support materials and visual timetables to help children make better use of auditory material. In some cases, interventions are supported by manual signing systems (for example, Makaton or Paget Gorman).
How do you treat a cleft palate speech?
The main goals to help children with “cleft palate speech” are to:
- Establish correct articulation (placement, manner, and voicing) using articulation therapy techniques.
- Ensure there is good oral pressure during sound production.
- Establish new motor speech patterns that replace speech sound errors.
What is the difference between cleft lip and cleft palate?
Cleft lip is a birth defect in which a baby’s upper lip doesn’t form completely and has an opening in it. Cleft palate is a birth defect in which a baby’s palate (roof of the mouth) doesn’t form completely and has an opening in it. These birth defects are called oral clefts or orofacial clefts.
What is a salt assessment?
Speech and language therapists (SALTs) assess difficulties with swallowing and communication. They can offer support through swallowing and speech exercises, dietary advice and changes to medication. Difficulties in swallowing, known as dysphagia, may arise from a number of medical causes.
What is the treatment pathway for children with a cleft lip?
These problems can often be missed or misdiagnosed, but thankfully the treatment pathway for children with a cleft includes speech and language assessments to ensure that any issues with speech are identified and managed early on. What does Speech and Language Therapy Involve?
Does my child with a cleft palate need speech therapy?
Around half of all children with a cleft palate will need Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) at some point, and any speech issues your child has should be picked up and managed by the Cleft Team early on. Your child will have an assessment at around 18-24 months old, and another one at 3 years.
What is the cleft lip and palate speech science conference?
It draws together a group of international experts in the fields of cleft lip and palate and speech science to provide an up-to-date and in-depth account of the nature of speech production, and the processes and current evidence base of assessment and intervention for speech associated with cleft palate.
How does a cleft affect a child’s speech?
Often, it won’t be clear how a child will be affected until they start to speak. Children with a cleft that affects their soft palate (the part towards the back of the throat) may have problems with speech that include sounding nasal.