Background: Cleft lips and cleft palates are common congenital anomalies, which affects facial appearance, speech, hearing,
teeth alignment and other structures. Craniofacial anomalies and speech disorders are crucial problems in the preschoolaged
children (5-6 years old), when they start attending school and become more engaged in the community. This condition, which differentiates them from other students, can lead to teasing or mocking which can cause low-self esteem, an inferiority complex, and foster bad relationships with friends. Missing class in order to receive treatment and other additional care can affect a student’s learning, development and overall-quality of life.
Objective: The purpose of this research was to study the quality of life in preschool-aged cleft palate children and satisfaction with their level of speech.
Material and Method: This was a retrospective, descriptive study. The data were collected by reviewing medical records of
patients with cleft lip and cleft palate aged 5-6 years old who underwent operation and treatment with the Tawanchai Center
at Srinagarind Hospital. There were 39 patients in this study. Data collection was conducted for 5 months (June to October
2013). The research instruments were: 1) General Demographic Questionnaire, 2) Quality of Life Questionnaire with 5 Domains, and 3) the Satisfaction of Speech Questionnaire. The descriptive statistics, percentages and the standard deviation were analyzed in the present study.
Results: The findings revealed family information pertaining to CLP treatment and the impact it has on consumption, speech
training, hearing test, development, dental treatment, communication skills, participation, referral treatment as well as the quality of coordination for advanced treatment. The present study revealed that all of the aforementioned criteria were met at
a high level. Moreover, the child’s sickness had only a moderate impact on family life. In conclusion, the overall satisfaction was at a very high level.
Conclusion: It was concluded that the collaboration of the Tawanchai Cleft Center and the government, as well as with
private and non-governmental organizations was exceptional, particularly in regard to providing proper and continuous treatment for patients with cleft lips and/or cleft palate. The findings reflect a good quality of life in the pre-schooled children with cleft lip and cleft palate that received treatment from the Tawanchai Cleft Center at Srinagarind Hospital. Furthermore, the study showed that the problems associated with the condition, only affected the family’s lives at a minimal level.

Keywords: Quality of life, Cleft lip/cleft palate