Lambdacism, Rhotacism and Sigmatism in Preschool Children: Frequency and Distribution.

BACKGROUND: Speech sound appears first in the child's speech development and is the primary means of expression. Articulation disorders can hinder the comprehensibility of children's speech. The speech, in turn, can limit the child's inclusion in the social and educational environment. AIM: To establish frequency and distribution of lambdacism, rhotacism and sigmatism or their combination in preschool children and the frequency and distribution of these articulation disorders among boys and girls. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of data from preventive examination for early diagnosis of impairments of hearing, speech and sounds in preschool children has been carried out. In the selected sample, only the data for children diagnosed with lambdacism, rhotacism, sigmatism or their combination are analysed. The data is statistically examined, represented in tables and figures and analysed descriptively. RESULTS: In the analysed sample, the greater presence of lambdacism was observed before rhotacism and sigmatism. Most commonly, these three types of articulation disorder appear alone, as isolated cases, instead of a combination of two out of the three impairments. They are more common in boys than in girls. CONCLUSION: Timely diagnosis and rehabilitation of lambdacism, rhotacism and sigmatism or their combination in preschool children will enable easier and faster integration of the children in the social and educational environment without leaving lasting consequences.

The Relationship between the Type of Cleft and Nasal Air Emission in Speech of Children with Cleft Palate or Cleft Lip and Palate.

BACKGROUND: Cleft palate, due to damage of the soft palate, leads to dysfunction, i.e., inappropriate closure of the velopharynx during speech production, thus resulting in velopharyngeal insufficiency which characterises with hypernasal speech and nasal air loss/emission during speech production. AIM: To establish the relationship between the type of cleft according to the Veau classification and the degree of nasal air emission in the speech of patients with cleft using auditory-visual perceptual assessment procedures. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A group of 40 patients with irregular speech aged 4 to 7, out of which 20 with cleft palate or cleft lip and palate, participated in the research. The Veau classification was used to classify the cleft severity, while an indirect instrumental examination was conducted with the See-Scape instrument to detect nasal air emission during the speech. RESULTS: The respondents with cleft palate or cleft lip and palate of higher Veau class had a greater degree of nasal air emission during the speech. There is a positive, statistically significant correlation between the results obtained with the Veau classification of cleft lip and palate, and the degree of nasal air emission. The value of Spearman's coefficient of correlation is R = 0.46, and the calculated p-value is p = 0.04. CONCLUSION: A more severe cleft type is associated with an increased degree of nasal air emission during the speech, and vice versa.

The Role of the Velopharyngeal Sphincter in the Speech of Patients with Cleft Palate or Cleft Lip and Palate Using Perceptual Methods.

BACKGROUND: The velopharyngeal sphincter (VPS) plays the main role in speech formation. The cleft palate, due to the damage of the soft palate, leads to dysfunction of the velopharyngeal sphincter thus causing speech disorder. AIM: To establish a link between the nasal air escape and the perceptual symptoms in the speech of patients with cleft palate or cleft lip and palate using auditory-visual perceptual procedures for determining the influence the velopharyngeal dysfunction has on speech. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty patients with speech disorders, out of which 10 have cleft palate or cleft lip and palate (experimental group), participated in the perceptual assessment by means of Czermak mirror fogging test for assessing the nasal air escape and Pittsburgh Weighted Speech Scale (PWSS) for assessing the probable nature of the velopharyngeal sphincter. RESULTS: The respondents with a considerable nasal air escape have a higher velopharyngeal inability, that is, probably incompetent nature of the velopharyngeal sphincter. There is a strong correlation between the nasal air escape and the probable nature of the velopharyngeal sphincter (the coefficient of linear correlation r = 0.9756). The calculated p-value is p = 0.000002. CONCLUSION: The perceptual speech symptoms and the nasal air escape provide unique insight into the state and role the velopharyngeal sphincter has in speech.