It is important to note that individuals affected by VCFS will have one, some or many of the symptoms below.

Palate (Velo, or velum, means the palate)

• a cleft palate
• a sub mucous cleft palate
• a poorly functioning soft palate and/or pharyngeal muscles; this can result in nasal regurgitation (milk coming down the nose) or nasal speech.

Heart (Cardio, meaning the heart is affected)

• Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)
• Right-sided Aortic Arch
• Tetralogy of Fallot

Facial Features (this means individuals have similar facial features)

• Small almond shaped eyes
• Small lower set ears
• A long face
• Wide bridged nose

Speech Difficulties

• Delayed onset of language
• Nasal speech e.g. “nanny/ah-hee” for “daddy” or “mall” for “ball”
• Difficulty in expressing themselves

Hearing/Ears

• Frequent ear infections (often resulting in grommets)
• Children can often have hearing loss

The Immune System

• Frequent infections
• Adenoids should not be removed as this could severely impair speech

Physical Characteristics

• Low muscle tone
• Short in stature
• Long tapered fingers
• Hernias
• Curvature of the spine (scoliosis)
• Eye defects (including poor muscle tone, lazy eye, poor vision etc.)
• Leg pains (when walking or asleep at night)

Kidneys

• One kidney missing
• Diseased kidney
• Malfunctioning kidney

Learning Difficulties

• Maths – problem solving
• Reading comprehension
• Difficulty with abstract thinking/reasoning
• Attention deficiency
• Distracted easily

Social/Psychological

• Low self esteem
• Impulsive
• Disorganised
• Shy
• Mood swings
• Obsessive/compulsive behaviour (OCD)
• ADD/ADHD

For a comprehensive list of all symptoms known please refer to the VCFS Educational Foundation site (select About VCFS, then select General Info, select VCFS Fact Sheet).