<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> Background: There is a critical need for speech therapy services for people born with cleft lip and/or palate in developing countries.Objective: Assess the effectiveness of a speech camp and follow-up session for children with cleft lip and/or palate.Methods: A Community-Based Model for Speech therapy was implemented at Suwanaphum Hospital District, Roiet, Thailand. Thirteen children with cleft lip and/or palate (3; 6-13 years) attended a four-day speech camp and a one-day follow-up session (six months later) for remediation of their articulation disorders. Paraprofessional training was also provided. Pre- and post-tests were administered to the participants, caregivers, and paraprofessionals to determine the effectiveness of the program. A pre- and post-articulation test, as well as an audiological evaluation were administered. Five speech and language pathologists provided speech therapy, both individual and group, for a total of 18 hours during the four-day speech camp and six hours in the one-day follow-up session. The median difference of the number of articulation errors was determined by results of the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test.Results: There was a significant decrease in articulation errors following both the main speech camp and the follow-up session (z = 3.11, p &lt; 0.01; z = 2.87, p&lt;0.01, respectively). Caregivers’ and health care providers’ satisfaction ratings for participation in the speech camps ranged from good to excellent.Conclusion: A Community-Based Model of both a speech camp and follow-up session provided an effective speech therapy treatment for children with cleft lip and/or palate.</abstract>

Background: There is a critical need for speech therapy services for people born with cleft lip and/or palate in developing countries.Objective: Assess the effectiveness of a speech camp and follow-up session for children with cleft lip and/or palate.Methods: A Community-Based Model for Speech therapy was implemented at Suwanaphum Hospital District, Roiet, Thailand. Thirteen children with cleft lip and/or palate (3; 6-13 years) attended a four-day speech camp and a one-day follow-up session (six months later) for remediation of their articulation disorders. Paraprofessional training was also provided. Pre- and post-tests were administered to the participants, caregivers, and paraprofessionals to determine the effectiveness of the program. A pre- and post-articulation test, as well as an audiological evaluation were administered. Five speech and language pathologists provided speech therapy, both individual and group, for a total of 18 hours during the four-day speech camp and six hours in the one-day follow-up session. The median difference of the number of articulation errors was determined by results of the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test.Results: There was a significant decrease in articulation errors following both the main speech camp and the follow-up session (z = 3.11, p < 0.01; z = 2.87, p<0.01, respectively). Caregivers’ and health care providers’ satisfaction ratings for participation in the speech camps ranged from good to excellent.Conclusion: A Community-Based Model of both a speech camp and follow-up session provided an effective speech therapy treatment for children with cleft lip and/or palate.

Speech camp for children with cleft lip and/or palate in Thailand

Department of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002,

Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330,

Department of Otolaryngology, Chiangrai Regional Hospital, Chiangrai 57000,

Department of Otolaryngology, Saraburi Hospital, Saraburi 18000,

Department of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400,

Speech Clinic, Bumrungrat International Hospital, Bangkok 10110,

Asian Biomedicine

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":"Speech camp for children with cleft lip and/or palate in Thailand"}

Background: There is a critical need for speech therapy services for people born with cleft lip and/or palate in developing countries.Objective: Assess the...

Speech camp for children with cleft lip and/or palate in Thailand

Article Category: Original article

Published Online: Feb 04, 2017

Page range: 111 - 118

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5372/1905-7415.0501.013

© 2017

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.