Lexicogrammatical skills in 2-year-old children with and without repaired cleft palate.
Marziye Eshghi, Reuben Adatorwovor, John S Preisser and 2 others
PMID 34263689WHAT IT FOUND
Two-year-old children with repaired cleft palate had lower parent-reported vocabulary and grammar scores than peers, though some grammar details did not differ.
Their 18-month vocabulary size was associated with 24-month word and sentence scores.
Key findings
01Children with repaired cleft palate had lower lexical and grammatical scores than typically developing children.
02At 24 months, vocabulary size was associated with longer utterances and more complex sentences in both groups.
03Vocabulary size at 18 months predicted the number of words at 24 months, and gender predicted longer utterances at 24 months.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample was small, and the authors said the analysis was underpowered to detect small differences. The language measures came from parent reports, so the children's actual speech samples were not the main source. The Words and Sentences form does not fully capture the ability to make new word combinations, so it may not show true syntax. Vocabulary and grammar scores came from the same assessment battery, which may have made their association stronger. The groups differed in maternal education before adjustment, and the adjusted model still left some uncertainty about grammar differences. The study looked at 24 months, when grammar is still early, so later differences may be different. Some children with cleft palate had abnormal hearing, middle ear, or velopharyngeal pressure findings, and the paper did not settle which of these factors explained the scores.
Declared interests
The supplied article text does not include a conflicts-of-interest or funding declaration. The provided journal metadata lists research support from NIH extramural funds.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that cleft palate repair caused the lower language scores or that a particular early therapy will improve them. The study is observational, used parent reports, and included children with different hearing, middle ear, and velopharyngeal pressure findings.