What do we do?
Our Cleft Specialist works with children and young people who were born with a cleft palate or velopharyngeal dysfunction.
All children born with cleft in Doncaster and Bassetlaw will be under the care of Nottingham Trent Regional Cleft Network, but our Cleft Specialist will be involved in their care as the local link Speech and Language Therapist.
Where do we work?
Our Cleft Specialist works in the Children’s Outpatients Department in Doncaster Royal Infirmary, but can also offer visits in school, nursery or at home if appropriate.
What to expect?
A babble advice session will be arranged for the families of all children born with cleft palate and/or cleft lip and palate around the time of their initial palate repair surgery (usually around 9 months). The aim of this appointment is to provide advice on how the child’s family can support their child’s speech and language development in the early years.
All children born with cleft palate will then be invited for speech and language reviews at age 2 and 3, to check how their speech is developing and whether further input is needed.
Other information
You can find helpful information and advice relating to cleft palate and how to support your child’s speech development through the following links:
Cleft Lip & Palate Association (clapa.com)
Cleft lip and palate – Treatment – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
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