JCPSLP Vol 22 No 2 2020

Appendix A

Information for families of a child diagnosed with cleft palate: What you need to know about your child’s talking and eating

What is a cleft palate?

A cleft palate is a gap or hole in the roof of a child’s mouth that occurs when the parts of their face don’t fuse properly in the womb Some children also have a cleft lip Sometimes a cleft palate is part of a syndrome, and sometimes it happens for unknown reasons Your child might be found to have a cleft palate before or after birth

How might a cleft palate impact my child?

Feeding

Talking

Children with cleft palate need special bottle teats to help their feeding, you can get these from your cleft team, the hospital, and certain pharmacies Babies with cleft palate may get food and drink out their nose before their palate repair surgery (known as nasal regurgitation) Your child might be sensitive to people or objects touching their head or their face They might also be a picky eater, only liking certain tastes and textures

Some children with cleft palate can still have

can make their speech sound nasal. A speech pathologist can help with this

understanding instructions and/or expressing themselves (i.e., language delays)

hearing and it’s important they are hearing well to ensure their best speech

What can a speech-language pathologist do?

Help your child to learn to talk more clearly and express themselves Provide support for your child’s eating (bottle-feeding and solid foods)

You can work with your speech-language pathologist to identify feeding and talking goals based on what is important to your family Ask about telehealth options if you have a long way to travel You can also ask your speech-language pathologist to help in accessing other services your family might need such as preschool, psychology, occupational therapy, dental or medical services, or hearing checks

What input can I have as a family member?

Creative Commons © 2020

Anna Cronin, Sarah Verdon and Sharynne McLeod

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JCPSLP Volume 22, Number 2 2020

Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology