Telepractice-based articulation therapy for correction of errors in stop consonants in children with repaired cleft lip and palate: A preliminary report

Background: Children with repaired cleft lip and palate (RCLP) often exhibit compensatory articulation necessitating intensive and consistent speech therapy. However, these children have difficulty accessing speech services due to the unavailability of speech-language pathologists in their localities and the affordability of travelling expenses and time. Telepractice has emerged as a feasible alternative mode of service delivery which reduces travel expenses and time for families. Aim: The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of articulation therapy for stop consonants through telemode in Kannada-speaking children with RCLP between the age range of 4 and 10 years. Methods: A time series research design was employed to compare the production of stop consonants across pretherapy, posttherapy, and follow-up phases. Ten children with RCLP underwent 30 sessions of articulation therapy through telemode via Zoom platform. The stop consonants were selected from the Kannada Diagnostic Photo Articulation Test for periodic assessment. The outcome measure such as cleft type errors (CTEs), percentage of consonants correct revised (PCC R) and proportion of whole word correctness (PWC) were analyzed across pretherapy, posttherapy, and follow up phases. Results: The results reported an overall reduction in CTE across pretherapy, posttherapy, and follow-up. Friedman analysis was performed to analyze outcome measures CTE, PCC-R, and PWC across three time points. The findings indicated a significant reduction in glottal stop between pretherapy and follow-up ( P = 0.030). Additionally, there was a significant increase in PCC-R scores from pretherapy to posttherapy ( P = 0.016) and pretherapy to follow-up ( P = 0.000), indicating improved consonant proficiency. PWC scores also showed a significant improvement between pretherapy and follow-up ( P = 0.000). These outcome measures enhanced the articulatory placement and oral airflow. Conclusion: Articulation therapy delivered via telemode is effective in minimizing compensatory articulation in children with RCLP.