Frequently the disorder of congenital palatal incompetence (CPI), in the absence of physiological evidence of clefting, is not discovered until after adenoidectomy. That is because the adenoidal pad served to mask the insufficiency of the velopharyngeal mechanism. Findings from this study indicate that early disorders in speech production, particularly nasalization of speech, is a useful predictor of CPI. Recommendations are made about methods for screening children before adenoidectomy or those suspected of having the CPI disorder.
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