# Validating an objective assessment of speech outcomes of children with cleft palate  pre and post  secondary surgery

> **NIH NIH R56** · ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY-TEMPE CAMPUS · 2022 · $370,187

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Perceptual assessment of hypernasality is considered a critical component when evaluating the speech of
children with cleft lip and/or palate (CLP). However, most speech-language pathologists (SLPs) do not
receive formal training for perceptual evaluation of speech and, as a result, research shows that the
subjective ratings are inherently biased to the perceiver and exhibit considerable variability. In this project,
we aim to validate an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that automatically evaluates speech along two
dimensions deemed to be critically important by the Americleft Speech Outcomes Group (ASOG), namely
hypernasality and speech acceptability. An AI algorithm was developed in an NIH-funded R21 (DE026252,
PIs Scherer & Berisha) based on an existing database of 5-7 year olds with CLP from the Americleft Speech
Outcomes Project. The AI tool was validated on a small prospective sample of 5-7 year olds with CLP.
This proposal has two aims. The first aim will extend the speech samples to children 3-5 years of age with
CLP to cover the typical ages when decisions about secondary palatal management are considered and
to collect comparison speech samples from noncleft children within this age range. The second aim will
validate the AI tool with a cross-sectional and longitudinal sample of children who are receiving a secondary
palatal management in a multi-center clinical trial (VPI-OPS, Dr. Thomas Sitzman, PI). The results will
provide validation of the automated tool to objectively quantify and track speech production in children
with CLP.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10667250
- **Project number:** 1R56DE031253-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY-TEMPE CAMPUS
- **Principal Investigator:** Visar Berisha
- **Activity code:** R56 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $370,187
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10667250

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10667250, Validating an objective assessment of speech outcomes of children with cleft palate  pre and post  secondary surgery (1R56DE031253-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10667250. Licensed CC0.

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