Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
71
9
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TYPE
Original Research
PAGE NO.
71-73
DOI
OPEN ACCESS
SUBMITED
13 March 2025
ACCEPTED
09 April 2025
PUBLISHED
11 May 2025
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue05 2025
COPYRIGHT
© 2025 Original content from this work may be used under the terms
of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License.
Specific Speech Features in
Children with Congenital
Cleavage of The Upper Lip
and Palatine
Shakhnoza Shokirova
Associate Professor of the Department of Speech Therapy, Tashkent State
Pedagogical University named after Nizami, Doctor of Pedagogical
Sciences (DSc), Scientific research area: 13.00.03
–
Special pedagogy,
Uzbekistan
Abstract:
This
article
examines
the
specific
characteristics of speech development in children with
congenital cleft lip and palate. It discusses the
anatomical and physiological factors affecting speech
formation, different types of rhinolalia, and the
importance of speech therapy for these children.
Additionally, the article outlines the main tasks of
preoperative and postoperative speech therapy,
focusing on articulation, phonation, and breathing
development techniques.
Keywords:
Congenital cleft lip and palate, speech
disorder, rhinolalia, preschool age, articulation,
phonation, voice, breathing, speech breathing,
massage, education, speech therapy correction,
rehabilitation.
Introduction:
Cleft lip and palate (CLP) is one of the
most common craniofacial anomalies, significantly
affecting the development of speech in children. This
congenital defect occurs in approximately 1 in 700-1000
infants, and its frequency varies by ethnic group. CLP is
a complex pathology that affects not only the
appearance of children, but also speech formation,
hearing function, development of the dentofacial
system and psychological state.
Types of CLP and its impact on speech
Clips of the upper lip and palate are divided into the
following types:
1. Isolated cleft of the upper lip.
2. Isolated cleft of the palate (open or hidden).
3. Combined cleft of the upper lip and palate.
Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
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Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
The localization and degree of the cleft directly affect
the severity of speech disorders. Cleft palate leads to
anatomical and functional deficiencies of the
articulation apparatus, which causes the following
specific speech disorders:
Rhinolalia. The most common speech disorder in
children born with Cleft palate is open rhinolalia, in
which the air flow is incorrectly distributed due to the
connection between the oral and nasal cavities. In this
case:
sounds are emitted through the nose, as a result of
which speech acquires the appearance of "nasal
speech";
difficulties arise in pronouncing consonants, especially
the articulation of plosive and gliding consonants is
impaired;
the differences between sounds are reduced, and
speech intelligibility decreases.
Studies show that, despite good surgical results,
varying degrees of rhinolalia are observed in 50-80% of
children born with Cleft palate.
Articulation disorders. In children with cleft lip and
palate, the articulation process is impaired due to the
lack of anatomical structures necessary for the correct
pronunciation of sounds:
labial sounds (b, p, m) - impaired due to the cleft lip;
lingual sounds (t, d, n) - difficulty in touching the tip of
the tongue to the palate;
gliding sounds (s, z, sh, j) - difficulties in directing the
air flow;
plosive sounds (k, g) - impaired due to the lack of palate
adjustment.
Compensatory articulation. Children born with cleft lip
and
palate
develop
inadequate
articulation
mechanisms to compensate for the incorrect
pronunciation of sounds:
glottal stop - production of sounds at the level of the
larynx;
pharyngeal fricatives - production of sounds using the
posterior wall of the larynx;
dorsal articulation - activation of the back of the
tongue;
nasal surdo-alternation - the production of sounds in
the nose.
These compensatory mechanisms further reduce the
intelligibility of speech and complicate the process of
speech therapy correction. Hearing impairment and its
impact on speech. Up to 90% of children born with CTE
develop middle ear inflammation (otitis media) and
hearing loss. The reasons for this are:
Eustachian tube dysfunction - due to an anomaly of the
palatine muscles;
Improper development of ear tissues;
Recurrent infections.
Hearing impairment further complicates speech
development:
Phonemic perception is impaired;
It becomes difficult to hear and control speech sounds
on your own;
Articulation accuracy decreases.
Speech development delay. Children with CTE may have
delayed speech development stages:
The number of sounds that can be pronounced is
limited;
The vocabulary is less than normal;
Difficulty mastering grammatical structures;
Difficulty understanding and expressing complex speech
constructs;
Studies show that 30-40% of children born with CTE
have varying degrees of language development delays.
The impact of surgical intervention on speech.
Surgery to close the cleft palate (uranoplasty) is
important for speech development. The timing and
quality of surgical intervention directly affect the
outcome of speech:
early uranoplasty (up to 18 months) - creates more
opportunities for speech development;
delayed uranoplasty - leads to the formation of
compensatory articulations;
the quality of surgery - affects the restoration of the
function of the veolopharyngeal valve.
According to modern approaches, the optimal timing of
the operation is 9-12 months, since it is during this
period that the child begins to actively form speech.
Speech assessment in children born with Cleft Palate.
The following examinations are performed to accurately
assess speech pathology:
1. Clinical examination:
assessment of the anatomical structure of the
articulation apparatus;
examination of facial expressions and articulatory
motor skills;
assessment of palatopharyngeal function.
2. Instrumental assessment of speech:
nasoendoscopy - movements of the palatal-pharyngeal
ring;
videofluoroscopy - movements of the soft palate during
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Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
speech;
aerodynamic examinations - distribution of air flow
through the mouth and nose;
acoustic analysis - spectral characteristics of sounds.
3. Perceptual assessment:
Speech intelligibility;
Degree of hypernasality;
Type and degree of articulation errors;
Pitch and quality of sound.
Features of speech therapy. Speech therapy work with
children born with CLS is carried out in the following
areas:
1. Preparation of the speech apparatus:
development of articulatory muscles;
breathing exercises - differentiation of nasal and oral
breathing;
activation of the muscles of the soft palate and larynx.
2. Development of phonetic-phonemic perception:
formation of the ability to hear and distinguish sounds;
development of the ability to control one's own
speech.
3. Correction of sounds:
teaching correct articulatory positions;
strengthening sounds separately, in syllables, words
and sentences;
elimination of compensatory articulations.
4. Development of prosodic components of speech:
regulation of speech tempo and rhythm;
normalization of voice volume and pitch;
work on intonational expressiveness.
5. Development of lexical-grammatical structures:
increase vocabulary;
mastery of grammatical rules;
formation of connected speech.
Speech development in children born with CLP is a
complex process and requires a multidisciplinary
approach.
The joint work of all specialists allows achieving high
results in speech development.
Speech disorders in children with cleft lip and palate
are complex and include problems such as rhinolalia,
articulation disorders, compensatory articulation,
auditory
dysfunction,
and
general
speech
development delay.
The success of speech correction depends on many
factors: the timing and quality of correction of the
anatomical defect, the timing of the start of speech
therapy, the participation of parents, an individual
approach to the child and the effective cooperation of
the multidisciplinary team.
Due to the development of modern diagnostic and
rehabilitation methods, most children born with ASD
have the opportunity to form normal speech, which
gives them the opportunity to fully integrate into
society, receive education and successfully engage in
professional activities in the future.
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