My research focuses on optimizing the treatment for children with a cleft palate. Ideally, a cleft palate should be surgically repaired through a palatoplasty within the first year of life. Some children may still require a speech correcting surgery at an older age. To date, there is no worldwide consensus on the optimal surgical technique for cleft palate repair. Through my research, we aim to identify factors that influence successful speech outcomes following primary palatoplasty. Additionally, we are studying which surgical technique yields the best speech results with the lowest likelihood of additional speech correcting surgeries.