Welcome! This area of the website features a collection of over 600 cleft-related articles. This page lists a brief overview of each subject area. It may not list all the areas covered. Be sure to check the link. If you have a question you'd like answered, consider joining Cleft Talk and get your questions answered by people and professionals who have traveled the road before you.

For all Parents

Includes a hearty section for NEW Parents (Congratulations!!!). You'll find information on caring for your cleft-affected newborn, basics on doctors, what to tell siblings, taking pictures, dealing with your emotions, stress reduction, starting your own support groups and more.

This section also includes references and resources for both newborn and older children.

Feeding Issues

Breastfeeding vs. bottle feeding, bottle feeding tips, after surgery feeding, liquid diet recipes, overcoming oral defensiveness, photos of various feeding bottles.

Cleft Terms Defined

History of Clefts, Facts about Clefts, and Medical Terms explained, (Such as: Kinds of Clefts, Fistulas, Obturators, Latham Pin Device, Hemangioma, Keloid Scarring, Rhinoplasty, Periostoplasty, Nasopharyngoscopy)

Uplifting Thoughts

A large collection of articles, poems and positive thoughts

Surgery & Medical Issues

Check here for your medical questions! Information on Doctors, What happens at a Team Visit, Anesthesia, Before Surgery Tips, What to Expect at the first surgery, After Care Tips, Info on Lip Repair, Palate Repair, Other Parents Hospital Tales, Nose Repair, Bone Graft, Jaw Advancement, On Effects On Other Kids In Your Family, Wholistic Approaches

Everyday Life

Topics included are: Self-Esteem Issues, Make-up, Teasing, Day Care, School, talking to teachers, talking to students, Advocating for your child, Teenage issues, Adoption, Wide Smiles Writers Guidelines, Friends of Wide Smiles, Bottle Share Program, Getting rid of Headaches

Insurance/Finances

Getting them to pay for the care you want, dealing with HMO's, fighting the big guys, Insurance Story & Letter - one parent's story of how they got insurance to pay for doctors they wanted to use, Insurance and Adoption, and links to Military related insurance issues.

Dentistry

Baby bottle tooth decay and weaning, neonatal teeth, missing teeth, teeth in the middle of the palate, orthodontia in children with clefts, jaw expansion by orthodontia before bone graft, getting rid of headaches

Ears & Hearing

Your Child's Hearing: Ear Aches/Infections, Ear Tubes, Hearing Exams

Speech

Getting Evaluated, Early Speech Stimulation Exercise, Guide to Normal Speech Development, How to get Speech Therapy, Speech/Oral Exercises

Pierre Robin

Syndrome vs. Sequence, Sticklers Overview, Feeding (plus) Advice for Newborn.

Syndromes

Kallman, Heart Murmurs, Endocrine Disorders, Van Der Woude, Optiz G, Fused Or Missing Fingers or Toes, Amniotic Banding, Chromosome 11, VCFS, Crouzons

Possible Causes

Understanding Genetics, No Genetic Link, Smoking, Vitamin A, Folic Acid, CVS testing, Gulf War Link, Fetal Cleft Repair, and more.

Internet Help

Explaining email symbols and abbreviations, Finding Software, Using IRC - Chats, Free Email, Cleft-Talk Commands