Speech Pathology Telepractice Intervention during the COVID-19 Pandemic for Spanish-speaking Children with Cleft Palate: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT Background Due to the lockdown and quarantines caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to study and use telepractice for providing speech pathology interventions for children with cleft palate has arisen. Objective To carry out a systematic review of the use of telepractice during the COVID-19 pandemic for providing speech pathology interventions for Spanish-speaking children with cleft palate. Methods In July and August 2020, the authors searched the electronic databases Medline, LILACS, SciELO, and the Cochrane Library using the following keywords in English (MeSH): Cleft palate combined with Early intervention, Speech therapy, Rehabilitation of speech and language disorders, Speech production measurement, Speech articulation tests and Telemedicine. Original articles were selected and analyzed, complemented by an analysis of flowcharts and recommendations by the GES Clinical Guide of Cleft Lip and Palate of Chile's Government and the authors’ expert opinions. Results A total of 2680 articles were retrieved, of which 23 were critically analyzed and used to adapt the early stimulation, evaluation, and treatment of children with CP to speech therapy telepractice at the Gantz Foundation, a Hospital in Santiago de Chile. Limitations: Only three researchers carried out a quick review, which limited the depth of individual analysis of the studies included. Also, the suggestions and material presented should be evaluated in future investigations. Conclusion This systematic review provides useful guidelines for providing speech pathology interventions through telepractice for children with cleft palate. Audiovisual materials seem to be extremely useful for families receiving the interventions. The use of interactive videos for Spanish-speaking children and educational videos for parents is manifest.