soft palate repair techniques

[KAY]

Hi, I have a almost 3 year old who was born with a soft palate cleft. It was repaired when she was 9 months old. She has only started her speech about 2 months ago and to my dismay, I was just told by the speech therapist that she has hypernasality, and that my options are either the flap or elongation of the palate. I still can't accept the fact that this is happening to my daughter. I seem to be the only one who understands her 20% of the time only. I can see the dissappointment on her face when I simply do not understand what she is trying to tell me with so much of enthusiasm.
What I'm really interested in is to know more about the various techniques used in a soft palate repair in the first place. I understand, besides the expertise of the surgeon, what matters next is the technique. Would trully appreciate any info on this. Thanks. Kay

[Caroldove@aol.com]

Hi Kay,
My daughter is 12 and she was very difficult to understand until she was about 5 years old. I can't really help you with the different suregeries that are used but one thing that I found ever so helpful was learning some sign language. It can be so frustrating for the kids to not be able to be understood. The signing won't slow down your daughters speech but it sure will help her frustration! You can e-mail me if you like. Does your daughter have any other concerns besides the cleft soft palate? Take Care,
Carol