TY - JOUR

T1 - Development and validation of a screening procedure to identify speech-language delay in toddlers with cleft palate

AU - Jørgensen, Line Dahl

AU - Willadsen, Elisabeth

PY - 2017/10/3

Y1 - 2017/10/3

N2 - The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a clinically useful speech-language screening procedure for young children with cleft palate +/- cleft lip (CP) to identify those in need of speech-language intervention. Twenty-two children with CP were assigned to a +/- need for intervention condition based on assessment of consonant inventory using a real-time listening procedure in combination with parent-reported expressive vocabulary. These measures allowed evaluation of early speech-language skills found to correlate significantly with later speech-language difficulties in longitudinal studies of children with CP. The external validity of this screening procedure was evaluated by comparing the +/- need for intervention assignment determined by the screening procedure to experienced speech-language pathologists’ (SLPs’) clinical judgment of whether or not a child needed early intervention. The results of real-time listening assessment showed good-excellent inter-rater agreement on different consonant inventory measures. Furthermore, there was almost perfect agreement between the children selected for intervention with the screening procedure and the clinical judgment of experienced SLPs, indicating that the screening procedure is a valid way of identifying children with CP who need early intervention. Keywords: Cleft palate, cleft palate speech, early intervention, speech-language screening

AB - The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a clinically useful speech-language screening procedure for young children with cleft palate +/- cleft lip (CP) to identify those in need of speech-language intervention. Twenty-two children with CP were assigned to a +/- need for intervention condition based on assessment of consonant inventory using a real-time listening procedure in combination with parent-reported expressive vocabulary. These measures allowed evaluation of early speech-language skills found to correlate significantly with later speech-language difficulties in longitudinal studies of children with CP. The external validity of this screening procedure was evaluated by comparing the +/- need for intervention assignment determined by the screening procedure to experienced speech-language pathologists’ (SLPs’) clinical judgment of whether or not a child needed early intervention. The results of real-time listening assessment showed good-excellent inter-rater agreement on different consonant inventory measures. Furthermore, there was almost perfect agreement between the children selected for intervention with the screening procedure and the clinical judgment of experienced SLPs, indicating that the screening procedure is a valid way of identifying children with CP who need early intervention. Keywords: Cleft palate, cleft palate speech, early intervention, speech-language screening

M3 - Journal article

JO - Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics

JF - Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics

SN - 0269-9206

ER -