When is the time to treat cleft palate speech?

  The most common manifestation of organic dysarthria due to cleft palate is the posterior tongue position, i.e., many speech sounds are produced with /g///k/ instead of /d/t//z/c/s/ and other lingual antecedents, and it is possible that this faulty diction habit of the posterior tongue position starts to form during the initial phonological acquisition stage. Interactive games such as “lalala,” “tututu,” and “dadada” can be played with the tongue to guide the development of lingual pre-sounds.  For post-operative cleft palate children, the above games are still recommended for children who underwent cleft palate surgery between the ages of 1 and 2.5 years, and for children who were older at the time of surgery, it is recommended to start voice training 3 months after the surgery.  Speech training can be effective at any time, but of course the older the patient is, the more stable the incorrect speech habits become, and it will take a little longer to make the newly learned correct phonological movements become stable habits.