Intensive therapy for speech rehabilitation of a patient with cleft lip and palate: a case report

ABSTRACT Intensive therapy is an alternative to accelerate the therapeutic process of individuals with cleft lip and palate. The purpose of this study is to describe an intensive speech therapy program and compare the results before and after the program on a child with previously operated right unilateral cleft lip and palate and velopharyngeal insufficiency, using a speech bulb. Sixty therapy sessions were carried out over a 4-week period. Before and after, anamnesis, speech assessment and evaluation of the velopharyngeal function with nasofibroscopy, were performed. The patient presented with adequate resonance and speech intelligibility, reduction of obligatory disorders and compensatory articulations, after intensive therapy with the speech bulb and reduction of velopharyngeal gap, after intensive therapy with and without the speech bulb. Progress was achieved with the intensive speech therapy.