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SPEECH THERAPY FOR THE TREATMENT OF CLEFT LIP AND PALATE
One of the issues that families of children with cleft lip and palate are most interested in is whether children will have speech disorders in the future. My child, who has cleft lip and palate problems, will not be able to talk? For families who have anxiety, Prof. Dr. shared important information.
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LIP SLITS ALONE DO NOT LEAD TO SPEECH IMPAIRMENT
One of the biggest concerns of families with cleft lip and palate is speech disorder. However, the calm and conscious approach of families in this process is very important for the treatment process and its success. First of all, I would like to express that only children with cleft lips do not have speech disorders. If there is a serious dental arch problem that accompanies only the lip cleft, disorders that can be easily corrected may occur in the sounds that occur from the front of the mouth.
If the cleft lip and palate are together or if there is only a cleft palate, the possibility of speech impairment is raised. The probability of speech impairment is quite high when it comes to cleft palate. We can say that the possibility of speech impairment becomes almost certain when the cleft palate is not treated. After surgery for a cleft palate, a speech disorder may also occur, depending on the shape of the cleft palate, when it was operated on, and the recovery process after surgery.
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HOW SHOULD SPEECH THERAPY BE PLANNED FOR THE TREATMENT OF CLEFT LIP AND PALATE?
We plan the treatment of babies with cleft lip and palate as early as possible to prevent speech from being affected. However, in speech disorders that occur despite treatment, it is necessary to resort to speech therapy. In particular, interviewing and collaborating with speech therapists who have worked with children with cleft lip and palate is of great importance in this process. We refer the children in our follow-up to speech therapists if necessary. A speech disorder in children is an issue that must be considered because it can cause peer bullying and create trust problems in the later stages. As a doctor, although I perform the treatment of cleft lip and palate in the best way from a surgical point of view, I recommend speech therapy to all my patients’ families if necessary.
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