Children with cleft lip/palate and mental retardation: A subpopulation of cleft-craniofacial team patients

This study compares a subpopulation of persons with cleft lip/palate who have mental retardation (n = 56) to those with normal learning (n = 420), at a large university-based cleft-craniofacial center. Many of the patients identified as having mental retardation in this sample have the diagnosis of isolated cleft palate (46.8%). Nearly half (46.3%) of the patients with mental retardation were found to have multiple anomalies, syndromes or associated medical findings. Common findings included cardiopulmonary defects, seizures, and deviations in head size. In this clinic population, mental retardation was found more commonly among African-American patients with clefts, than among Caucasian patients with clefts. Higher rates of facial disfiguration and impaired speech were found in patients with clefts and mental retardation. This research demonstrates that among a population of persons with cleft lip and/or cleft palate, there is a subpopulation of children who also have mental retardation. Craniofacial-cleft teams will need to develop strategies to address the special needs of this group of patients.