Speech
Often a palatal obturator is used because a palatal fistula can affect development and proper articulation. As fistula sizes vary, small fistulae tend to result in little to no speech alterations whereas large fistulae tend to result in audible nasal emissions and weak pressure with and/or without hypernasality. Misarticulations, abnormal nasal resonance and nasal escape or air often results from the problem. Fistulae may decrease intraoral air pressure during production of oral pressure consonants causing distortion of sounds as well as increase in nasal airflow. It is common for an individual with a fistula to compensate for a loss of pressure during speech sound production by attempting to regulate intraoral air pressure with increasing respiration effort and using compensatory articulation. Middorsum palatal stops (atypical place of articulation) often results from palatal fistulae causing sound distortions during speech. Occlusion for the fistula is attempted by speakers with deviant tongue placements during these palatal stops.
The palatal obturation may be managed temporarily or may be sustained for longer periods of time. Location-specific palatal obturation has been documented to significantly improve articulation errors, hypernasality (based on listener judgments), and nasal emissions (immediately post-obturation only). Usage of more anterior tongue placements is considered a primary target for speech therapy. The relationship between palatal openings and articulation is important to note prior to surgical plans to ascertain timing of speech therapy and most appropriate therapy goals and approach. Speech therapy may be most beneficial prior to sustained palatal obturation rather than short-term obturation.
Read more about this topic: Palatal Obturator
Famous quotes containing the word speech:
“Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.”
—Salman Rushdie (b. 1948)
“He has the earnestness of a prophet. In an age of pedantry and dilettantism, he has no grain of these in his composition. There is nowhere else, surely, in recent readable English, or other books, such direct and effectual teaching, reproving, encouraging, stimulating, earnestly, vehemently, almost like Mahomet, like Luther.... His writings are a gospel to the young of this generation; they will hear his manly, brotherly speech with responsive joy, and press forward to older or newer gospels.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Grammar is a tricky, inconsistent thing. Being the backbone of speech and writing, it should, we think, be eminently logical, make perfect sense, like the human skeleton. But, of course, the skeleton is arbitrary, too. Why twelve pairs of ribs rather than eleven or thirteen? Why thirty-two teeth? It has something to do with evolution and functionalism—but only sometimes, not always. So there are aspects of grammar that make good, logical sense, and others that do not.”
—John Simon (b. 1925)