A Practical Guide for Families and Caregivers of Children with Cleft Lip and Palate

Raising a child with a cleft lip and palate brings unique challenges—but with the right information and support, you can help your child thrive. This trusted guide, written by three leading speech-language pathologists with decades of clinical experience, delivers the clear, evidence-based answers and practical strategies families need from diagnosis through the preschool years.

Inside, you'll find expert guidance on:

• Understanding cleft lip and palate and its impact on your child's health, development, and wellbeing
• Building a strong partnership with your child's treatment team
• Managing feeding challenges before and after surgery
• Supporting your child's hearing, dental, and surgical care
• Fostering communication development at every stage
• Strengthening speech and language skills through everyday interactions, books, and play

This revised edition includes the latest research and expanded resources to help you make informed decisions and advocate effectively for your child. It is an essential resource for families and a valuable introduction for professionals entering cleft care.

206 pages, softcover

ISBN: 978-1-58041-145-5

View Table of Contents and sample pages.

Praise for Children With Cleft Lip and Palate

Children With Cleft Lip and Palate is a valuable resource for any family or new professional navigating the care and support of a young child with a cleft. This book empowers caregivers to be strong advocates and prepares them for what to expect across the early years of their child’s cleft care journey. Readers will appreciate its clear and accessible explanations of terminology. It is well organized, and information about specific topics such as feeding, hearing, speech development, and surgery can be easily located. A wealth of activities that can be completed during everyday routines to encourage speech and language development are provided with adaptations to support children at different levels of language learning. This book is a trustworthy source of information and is informed by decades of research and clinical experience by a group of established experts in cleft care. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to the families of children with clefts that I serve. -Jennifer Maybee, PhD, CCC-SLP

Written by leading researchers in speech and language development for children with cleft lip/palate, this book takes a substantial body of research…and makes it accessible to parents. In clear, encouraging language, the authors present practical examples, helpful charts and tables, and communication development strategies which emphasize play, foster early literacy skills, and address multilingual considerations—allowing caregivers to reflect on the purpose behind each recommendation and apply strategies in everyday routines. From my perspective as both a speech-language pathologist and an adult educator, the book succeeds by connecting developmental theory to concrete, actionable steps and highlighting real-world examples that make applying intervention strategies meaningful and relevant. Throughout, the authors empower parents, providing practical guidance on speech-language development and intervention strategies while reinforcing caregivers’ central role in fostering their child’s communication. -Sarah B. Vetter, MS, CCC-SLP, MAEA