How can cleft palate affect speech production?

Cleft palate significantly impacts speech production primarily through mechanical limitations caused by the absence of velopharyngeal closure. Because the palate fails to seal the oral cavity from the nasal cavity, air escapes through the nose during speech, resulting in an excessively nasal tone known as hypernasality.12

This structural deficiency creates two major mechanical challenges:
* Reduced Intraoral Pressure: It becomes impossible to achieve the necessary pressure within the mouth to generate plosive sounds (such as P or B).12
* Distorted Sibilants: Sibilant sounds (such as S) are distorted because the air required to produce the characteristic hissing noise escapes through the nose before it can reach the point of constriction.1

To compensate, individuals may unconsciously attempt to constrict their nostrils or shift the articulation of sounds down into the pharynx or larynx. Furthermore, speech development can be complicated by secondary factors, such as hearing loss resulting from chronic middle-ear infections, which are common in children with cleft palate. Comprehensive management by a specialized team, including speech pathologists, is essential to address these complex articulatory and linguistic challenges.12