Premium
Internationally adopted children with and without a cleft lip and palate showed no differences in language ability at school‐age
Author(s) -
Larsson AnnaKarin,
Persson Christina,
Klintö Kristina,
Miniscalco Carmela
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.15301
Subject(s) - medicine , significant difference , language development , audiology , dentistry , developmental psychology , psychology
Aim The aim of this study was to investigate language ability in internationally adopted children aged 7‐8 years with and without a unilateral cleft lip and palate. Methods We compared 27 internationally adopted children with a unilateral cleft lip and palate, adopted from China, with a group of 29 children without a cleft lip and palate, adopted from different countries. Participants were recruited from two cleft lip and palate teams in Sweden and through adoption organisations. Assessments were performed using standardised tests of speech and of receptive and expressive language ability. In addition, a parental questionnaire in which speech, language and communication aspects were rated was used. Results There were no significant differences in language ability between the groups. The only difference was related to speech ability, where the internationally adopted children with unilateral cleft lip and palate scored significantly lower. However, a high proportion of children in both groups scored low on measures of expressive language compared with test norms. Conclusion The results suggested that having a cleft lip and palate did not increase the risk of language difficulties. Instead, being internationally adopted may be associated with a risk of delayed language development lasting for several years post‐adoption.