Consonant productions in Malayalam-speaking toddlers with repaired cleft palate and/or lip

Introduction: Consonants are produced by complete obstruction of the oral tract indicating pressure build-up in the oral tract. Cleft palate and/or lip affects the oral air pressure built during consonant production. The current study investigates consonant production in toddlers with repaired cleft palate and/or lip (RCP ± L). The number and type of consonants in terms of place of articulation and manner of articulation were computed from the speech sample extracted. In toddlers with RCP ± L, cleft speech characteristics (CSCs) were also computed. Methods: The consonant productions were analyzed from a speech sample extracted from a 30-min mother–child interaction video recording. Consonant productions of five 30–36-month-old toddlers with typical development (TD) were compared with those of five 30–36-month-old toddlers with RCP ± L. Results: Regarding the place of articulation, toddlers with RCP ± L produced bilabials most frequently and dentals least frequently. In contrast, 60% of toddlers with TD produced dentals most frequently, whereas all toddlers with TD produced glottals least frequently. Comparing consonant productions, toddlers with RCP ± L had significantly lesser productions of dentals than toddlers with TD. In terms of manner of articulation, toddlers with RCP ± L produced plosives most frequently, whereas laterals and flaps were produced least frequently. Toddlers with TD also produced plosives most frequently. Flaps, approximants, and laterals were produced least frequently. Comparing consonant productions, toddlers with RCP ± L had significantly lesser productions of bilabials and laterals. In addition, CSC of nasalization of consonants, nasal air emission accompanying consonant production, and abnormal backing of oral consonants were observed. Conclusion: Reduced frequency of productions and altered productions indicate the need for early and intensive stimulation to aid the child in attaining age-appropriate speech production skills.