[Summary] ((Strauss, R.P., Broder, H., Helms, R.W. (1988). Perceptions of appearance and
speech by adolescent patients with cleft lip and palate and by their parents. Cleft Palate
Journal, Oct, 25(4):335-42))
This aim of this study was to assess satisfaction with
appearance , speech ability, and intelligibility among 102 adolescents (aged between 13 and
19 years old) born with cleft lip and cleft palate, and their parents. The study was carried
out by the School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and reported in
1988. 55.7% of the children surveyed had had three or more operations.
Patient ratings of
facial appearance showed that 59.3% were very pleased with the outcome of the surgery, 13.2%
moderately pleased, 18.7% somewhat disappointed, and 8.8% very disappointed. Most (91.9%) of
the children felt that their operations had accomplished what they expected. However, 35.7%
of cleft lip patients and 43.9% of their parents were less than very pleased with the
appearance of the lip.
With regards to speech, 69.1% of patients were very pleased with
the way they spoke. However, 19.1% rated themselves as only ‘moderately understandable’,
while 8.5% rated themselves as ‘not understandable’.
No significant differences could be
found between the sexes in terms of their satisfaction ratings, while this result was
repeated between parents and children.
[Summary] ((Broder, H. L., Smith, F. B., Strauss, R. P. (1992). Habilitation of patients with
clefts: parent and child ratings of satisfaction with appearance and speech. Cleft Palate
Craniofacial Journal, May, 29(3):262-7))
This study examined satisfaction levels with
facial appearance and speech performance among 495 parent-child pairs. The study was carried
out by the Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolins, Chapel Hill, and
reported in 1992. The age span of the children included in the study was 5 to 18 years
old.
Results indicated that 54% of children with cleft lip or cleft lip and palate were
very pleased with their appearance, while 62% of children with cleft palate or cleft lip and
palate were equally pleased with their speech performance.
Parents of females expressed
more concern about their daughters’ appearance than parents of males, while parents of males
were more concerned about speech performance.