Brief report: Cognitive and psychomotor development of infants with orofacial clefts

Objective: To compare at ages 3, 12, and 24 months the cognitive and psychomotor development of 29 infants with cleft lip and palate (CLP), 28 infants with cleft palate only (CPO), and a demographically matched comparison (COMP) group of 69 infants; to examine predictors of cognitive status at age 24 months in the cleft group. Methods: Infants were administered the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID), mother-infant interactions were observed, and medical records were reviewed. Results: CLP and CPO groups scored lower than the COMP group on the BSID, but did not differ from one another. Cleft group infants scored lower than COMP group infants on BSID items assessing nonverbal and expressive language skills. Quality of maternal interaction predicted the 2-year Mental Development Index (MDI) scores of infants with clefts. Conclusions: Infants with clefts show relative deficits in cognitive and psychomotor development. Cognitive deficits are apparent in nonverbal as well as verbal areas of performance.