Q: My 27 months old son has undergone a corrective surgery for posterior cleft palate twice last year. He can hear and speak but there is no clarity in his accent. We are worried and unable to figure if this is because of the tender age or surgery. We have put him under the care of a speech therapist also. Is there any test to determine whether he can speak normally in future? One of my friends has suggested BERA test, but can this be done in a child?

A:Children who have been operated for cleft palate may have some residual speech problems usually in the form of nasal speech. This is because the length of the palate may be short. This is an inherent problem of this defect and not a result of surgery. Speech therapy helps improve speech in these children. BERA is not a test for this condition.