Development of articulation before delayed hard-palate closure in children with cleft palate: a cross-sectional study.

The development of articulation before surgical closure of the hard palate was compared in 75 preschool children with cleft lip and palate and 40 preschool children born without clefts. The children were aged 2 years to 5 years 11 months. The patients had significantly poorer articulation skills than the controls at each age level. Substitutions were the most frequent error, and they did not decrease with age in the patients. Fistula size and a history of speech therapy were significant factors in the articulation error scores only in 5-year-olds. No advantage in articulation proficiency was found for those who had worn a prosthesis to occlude the hard-palate defect.