Internationally adopted children with and without a cleft lip and palate showed no differences in language ability at school-age.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate language ability in internationally adopted children aged 7-8 years with and without a unilateral cleft lip and palate.

Methods: We compared 27 internationally adopted children with a unilateral cleft lip and palate, adopted from China, with a group of 29 children without a cleft lip and palate, adopted from different countries. Participants were recruited from two cleft lip and palate teams in Sweden and through adoption organisations. Assessments were performed using standardised tests of speech and of receptive and expressive language ability. In addition, a parental questionnaire in which speech, language and communication aspects were rated was used.

Results: There were no significant differences in language ability between the groups. The only difference was related to speech ability, where the internationally adopted children with unilateral cleft lip and palate scored significantly lower. However, a high proportion of children in both groups scored low on measures of expressive language compared with test norms.

Conclusion: The results suggested that having a cleft lip and palate did not increase the risk of language difficulties. Instead, being internationally adopted may be associated with a risk of delayed language development lasting for several years post-adoption.