PHYSICAL MEDICINE AND REHABILITATION
Continuing Education Courses

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Assessment and Treatment of Children with Cleft Lip and Palate
October 24, 2008

Course Description
This one-day seminar will provide techniques for the assessment and treatment of children with a cleft lip and palate, focusing on children ranging in age from birth to elementary school years. This course will review anatomy and common surgical interventions for children with clefts. Assessment and intervention techniques will range from feeding strategies for newborns with clefts to effective evaluation and speech therapy activities for children with speech disorders relating to cleft palate and velopharyngeal dysfunction.

Course Objectives

• Identify various types of oral clefts and craniofacial anomalies associated with speech, language, and feeding disorders.
• Describe surgical and non-surgical procedures to improve velopharyngeal dysfunction.
• Implement feeding strategies to be used with infants with cleft.
• Analyze speech patterns in individuals with clefts and/or velopharyngeal dysfunction.
• Develop and implement evidence-based treatment plans for individuals with clefts and/or velopharyngeal dysfunction.

About the Instructors
Kristina Wilson, PhD, CCC-SLP, is a senior speech-language pathologist and clinical researcher at Texas Children’s Hospital. She has an appointment as Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Plastic Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Wilson’s clinical practice is devoted to children with cleft palate, craniofacial anomalies, and velopharyngeal dysfunction. Her research interests focus on early literacy skills of children with cleft. She frequently presents at national, state, and local conferences.

Samuel Stal, MD, is the Chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine in the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery. Dr. Stal has an appointment at Texas Children’s Hospital, where he is the Medical Director for the Center for Facial Surgery, and the Chief of the Plastic Surgery Service. Dr. Stal is a principal investigator for numerous clinical and basic research studies. His main focus of interest is pediatric plastic surgery with a special emphasis on the treatment of cleft lip and palate and other facial deformities.

Tiffany Hebert Spinos, MCD, CCC-SLP is a senior speech-language pathologist and feeding therapist at Texas Children’s Hospital. She has experience working with speech and swallowing issues in patients with head and neck cancer as well as children with severe feeding disorders. This experience provides a unique background for her work with infants with clefts. Mrs. Spinos; clinical interest include children with medically and behaviorally- based feeding disorders. Mrs. SPinos has been invited speaker at state and local conferences.

Course Schedule
Two fifteen minute breaks will be scheduled each day.

8:00-8:30 Registration/Continental Breakfast
8:30-9:45 Introduction, review of cleft types, anatomy, care team
9:45-10:30 Surgical Management of Clefts (Stal)
10:30- 10:45 Morning Break
10:45-11:30 Feeding Infants with Clefts (Spinos)
11:30-12:00 Screening Velopharyngeal Closure
12:00-1:00 Lunch (on your own)
1:00-2:15 Detailed Perceptual Speech Assessment of Children with Clefts.
2:15-2:45 Objective Speech Assessment of Children with Clefts.
2:45- 3:00 Afternoon Break
3:00-4:30 Intervention for VPI (appliances, surgery, and therapy)
4:30-5:00 Discussion/ questions

** Content will be presented by Dr. Wilson unless otherwise indicated

Course Fee
SLPs Full Day
8:00-5:00 $75.00

Morning Only (OTs, feeding therapists, and other health professionals)
$50.00

Registration
Please call 832-822-3280.

Location
Howland Auditorium
Children’s Nutrition Research Center
1100 Bates Street
Houston, TX 77030

For More Information
Jackie Zeno
832-822-3280
jlzeno@texaschildrens.org

CEUs
3.5 Contact Hours have been applied through TOTA