As a school-based speech therapist, you can profoundly impact the lives of students born with cleft lip or cleft palate. Here are our top resources on cleft palate speech therapy for SLPs. 

<h2>Speech Therapy for Students with Cleft Lip and Cleft Palates</h2>
<p> In the United States (<a href="https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/health-info/cleft-lip-palate" target="_blank">CDC</a>):</p>
<ul>
   <li> About 1 in every 1,600 babies is born with cleft lip with cleft palate </li>
  <li>	About 1 in every 2,800 babies is born with cleft lip without cleft palate </li>
  <li>	About 1 in every 1,700 babies is born with cleft palate </li>
</ul>
</br>
<p>Studies have shown children with oral clefts are at greater risk for (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3408555/" target="_blank">Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Journal</a>):
</p>

<ul>
  <li>	Psychological difficulties </li>
  <li>	Low self-esteem  </li>
  <li>	Auditory memory deficits </li>
  <li>	Delayed speech and language development </li>
  <li>		Expressive language difficulty </li>
  <li>	Severe central language impairment </li>
  <li>	Long-term reading deficits </li>
  <li>	Learning disabilities  </li>
</ul>
</br>
<p>
These challenges demonstrate why early intervention is critical for children with cleft 
palate or cleft lip. As a school-based SLP, you have an opportunity to profoundly 
impact the lives of children born with oral clefts. 
</p>


<h2>SLP Screening – Cleft Lip and Palate Assessment</h2>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.crosscountry.com/blog/meet-taylor-c-slp?" target="_blank">school-based SLP</a>, you may be responsible for screening a student for 
  cleft palate issues in various settings or as part of a cleft-palate-craniofacial team 
  visit. You’ll work with the team to help screen the student for 
  (<a href="https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/clinical-topics/cleft-lip-and-palate/" target="_blank">ASHA</a>):
</p>
<ul>
  <li> Anatomical/structural differences </li>
  <li>	Resonance or nasal airflow problems </li>
  <li>	Articulation errors  </li>
  <li>	Hearing issues </li>
  <li>	Expressive and receptive language skills </li>
  <li>	Language delays </li>
  <li>	Vocalization diversity and complexity </li>
  <li>	Vocalization rate </li>
  <li>	Use of communicative gestures  </li>
</ul>
</br>
<p>Further, your assessment should be:</p>
<ul>
  <li> Appropriate for the student’s age and stage of development </li>
  <li>	In the language(s) used by the student and their family </li>
  <li> Discussed thoroughly with the student’s family and treatment team </li>
</ul>

<h2>Cleft Palate Speech Therapy Goals</h2>
<p>As you develop speech therapy goals for a student with a cleft palate or cleft lip, 
  consult ASHA’s <a href="https://www.asha.org/siteassets/uploadedfiles/icf-cleft-palate.pdf">Person-Centered Focus on Function</a> 
  resource. The resource provides a 
  breakdown of assessment data as related to body functions and structures (ex., 
  unilateral cleft palate repaired at 3 and 12 months of age), activities and participation 
  (ex., difficulty being understood by unfamiliar listeners), environmental and personal 
  factors (ex., student has a strong desire to interact socially with her peers). 
  The resource then moves 
  through clinical reasoning to arrive at goals. It also provides sample goals:</p>
</br>
  <p>“Long-Term Goal:</p>
  <ul>
    <li> Maria will join in activities with peers and be understood when talking with friends and teachers in preschool and with unfamiliar 
      listeners in everyday social contexts. Short-Term Goals:
    </li>
    <li> Maria will produce /p, b, t, d/ with correct placement in all word positions to 
      eliminate glottal stops 90% of the time in structured sentences during individual 
      therapy.
    </li>
    <li> Maria will produce /s, z/ with correct placement in all word positions to 
      eliminate posterior nasal fricatives 90% of the time in structured sentences 
      during individual therapy.
    </li>
    <li> When invited by peers during free-play activities in the classroom, Maria will 
      participate in conversation in at least 4 out of 5 opportunities per week as 
      noted by the SLP and teachers.”
    </li>
  </ul>

  
<h2>Cleft Palate Speech Therapy Activities</h2>
<p>Specific therapy you use for students with cleft palate or cleft lip will depend on many factors, 
  including whether the child has had or is recovering from surgery. Consult with the team to determine 
  the best approach. Generally, school-based SLPs will work with students with oral palate 
issues on:</p>

<ul>
  <li> <strong>Articulation –</strong> Children with cleft palates may struggle with sounds produced in 
  the oral cavity, such as /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, and /k/. Focus on teaching the correct 
  placement of articulators (e.g., lips, tongue) to produce these sounds accurately.</li>

  <li><strong> Resonance –</strong> Cleft palates can impact the resonance of a child's 
  <a href="https://www.crosscountry.com/blog/speech-therapy-voice-and-fluency-goals?" target="_blank">voice</a>, 
  leading to hypernasal or hyponasal speech. Focus on balancing the airflow through 
  the nasal and oral cavities.
  </li>
  
  <li> <strong> Language Development –</strong> Address age-appropriate language skills and 
  any delays or difficulties that may arise due to the cleft palate.
  </li>
  
  <li> <strong>Feeding and swallowing – </strong> 
  on interventions to improve oral motor skills, swallowing coordination, and feeding 
  techniques to ensure safe and efficient eating.
  </li>
  <li> <strong> Moral support –</strong> 
  Help the child deal with emotional and psychological challenges by providing 
  encouragement and resources. 
  </li>
  <li> <strong>Family education –</strong> Provide information about the child's 
  specific speech needs, therapy techniques, activities, and strategies to support 
  speech and language development at home. 
</li>
</ul>

<h2>Top School SLP Resources on Cleft Palate Speech Therapy</h2>
<p>Wondering where to turn for evidence-based resources on therapy for students with cleft 
  lip or cleft palate? Here are some go-to resources from our team of educators, along 
  with information 
  on cleft palate speech therapy, goals, assessment, activities and articulation.</p>


  <ul>
    <li><a href="https://learning.acpacares.org/store/provider/provider09.php" target="_blank"> American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association</a><strong>(ACPA)</strong> – 
    ACPA Online Learning features webinars for cleft and craniofacial care providers. 
    ACPA’s Education Committee members select webinar topics and speakers to reflect 
    the diverse interest areas of ACPA’s multidisciplinary membership. ACPA provides 
    continuing speech education through ASHA. Check the site regularly for upcoming 
    opportunities.
    </li>

  <li><a href="https://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/cleftlip/" target="_blank">
  American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) – Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate</a> – 
  ASHA’s page on cleft lip and palate covers background, causes, testing, treatment, 
  feeding and speech. This is a great resource to provide for parents, guardians, 
  and educators.
  </li>
  
  <li><a href="https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/clinical-topics/cleft-lip-and-palate/" target="_blank"> 
  ASHA’s Clinical Page on Cleft Lip and Palate</a> – 
  This resource is an in-depth clinical guide for SLPs. It covers oral cleft incidence, prevalence, signs, 
  symptoms, causes, roles and responsibilities, assessment, treatment, resources and more. 
  </li>
 
  <li> <a href="https://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/-/media/Cincinnati Childrens/Home/service/s/speech/hcp/lecture-notes/lecture-speech-therapy-techniques-PDF(1).pdf" target="_blank">Cincinnati Children’s Speech-Language Pathology Techniques for Cleft Palate</a> – 
  This PDF is a helpful guide covering techniques for glottal stops, phoneme-specific nasal emission, palatal-dorsal productions, 
  pharyngeal plosives and more.
</li>
</ul>

<p> 
Help students who need you most! Check out our exciting opportunities nationwide 
with <a href="https://www.crosscountry.com/education" target="_blank">Cross Country Education.</a>
</p>

Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Speech Therapy