Improving Outcomes for Children with Cleft Palate

What we do:

Our team is working to improve the developmental outcomes for individuals with craniofacial conditions, including better access to services for children with craniofacial conditions across Arizona. As part of our efforts, we focus on new research that will improve feeding and communication outcomes, particularly those children with disabilities who have complex, long term, social, academic and medical needs. Many of these children live some distance from a craniofacial team and access to services is difficult and time-consuming. Our team is also committed to expanding student training in clinical, research, and interprofessional environments to train the next generation of providers in this field to meet these needs.

Who we are: 

Our team consists of researchers from ASU Speech and Hearing Science, clinicians from the Barrow-St. Joseph’s Cleft Palate Craniofacial regional team, and patient families. We hope to engage in training and research to assist clinicians, families, and students in finding solutions for patients with these conditions.

Why it’s important:

Cleft palate, or cleft lip, is the most common congenital craniofacial condition that occurs in infants. 1 out of 700 live births worldwide have this condition which requires coordinated care provided by a team of specialists. Communication and feeding are two of the critical issues in the first few years of life but are the most difficult to treat for a variety of reasons. Complex surgical, dental, genetic, developmental, psycho-social, speech, language and hearing problems must be treated in cleft palate and provide significant challenges to healthcare providers and families.

Leadership