The impact of enhanced Milieu teaching with phonological emphasis (EMT + PE) on the speech and language outcomes for toddlers with cleft palate in Brazil and the United States of America.
Natalie R Wombacher, Hope S Lancaster, Nancy J Scherer, Ding-Geng Chen, Ann Kaiser, Renata Yamashita
Author Information
Natalie R Wombacher: Arizona State University, Tempe, USA. ORCID
Hope S Lancaster: Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, USA. ORCID
Nancy J Scherer: Arizona State University, Tempe, USA.
Ding-Geng Chen: Arizona State University, Tempe, USA.
Ann Kaiser: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA, and.
Renata Yamashita: University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the speech and language outcomes of children with cleft palate with or without cleft lip (CP+/-L) in the USA to children with CP+/-L in Brazil who underwent intervention with enhanced Milieu teaching with phonological emphasis (EMT + PE), as there are few cross-country intervention comparisons for children with CP+/-L. METHOD: This is a retrospective analysis of 29 participants from the USA and 24 participants from Brazil who were matched on age. The US participants were between the ages of 13-35 months ( = 23.76), spoke Standard American English in the home, and were recruited from East Tennessee State University and Vanderbilt University. The Brazilian participants were between the ages of 20-34 months ( = 25.04), spoke Brazilian Portuguese in the home, and were recruited from the . All treatment participants received EMT + PE from trained speech-language pathologists in hospital-university clinics. RESULT: The treatment groups demonstrated greater gains than comparison groups in percent consonants correct, number of different words, and expressive/receptive vocabulary. There was no main effect nor interaction by country. CONCLUSION: The application of EMT + PE in a second culture and language is a viable early intervention option for participants with CP+/-L.
