Cleft & Cranio-Maxillofacial Anomalies Conference: Integrated Care to Maturity
September 20-23, 2007 - The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia

"On behalf of the ACLAPA Executive Council, I would like to encourage all members of the Association, and other professionals involved in the management of persons with cleft and/or craniofacial anomalies, to attend the 2007 scientific meeting as well as support the Speech Pathology, Orthodontic and ENT preconference working groups. This year's meeting is a combined meeting of ACLAPA and the Biennial Paediatric Plastic & Maxillofacial Surgery meeting of the Royal Children’s Hospital of Melbourne and is being convened by A/Prof Andrew Heggie and Dr Heather Cleland. I would like to thank Andrew and Heather for their organisation of what will be a very memorable experience in Melbourne in September. Please visit the official conference website at: www.cleft2007.com.au"

Dr David Gillett (ACLAPA President)

2007 ACLAPA Preconference Speech Pathology Meeting:
"Management of Early Speech and Language Skills in Children with Cleft Palate"
and "Instrumental Assessment of the Velopharyngeal Mechanism"
September 19, 2007 - Rydges Hotel, Melbourne, Australia
Free - Included in Conference Registration

"The Australasian Cleft Lip and Palate Association executive committee is delighted to announce that Prof Mary Hardin-Jones and Prof David Jones, Speech Pathologists from the University of Wyoming, USA, will be keynote speakers participating in the Speech Pathology preconference meeting at The Rydges Hotel on Wednesday September 19. Focussing on both the early speech and language skills in children with cleft palate, and the instrumental assessment of the velopharyngeal mechanism, the workshop is an essential for all Speech Pathologists. Members of other disciplines are more than welcome to attend."

Dr David Gillett (ACLAPA President)

Mary Hardin-Jones, Ph.D.
Mary Hardin-Jones is Director and Professor of the Division of Communication Disorders at the University of Wyoming.  She has been actively involved in the assessment and treatment of children with cleft lip and palate for over 20 years.  Dr. Hardin-Jones is particularly interested in the early speech development and treatment outcomes for these children and has over 75 presentations and publications pertaining to these topics.  She co-authored the 3^rd edition of Cleft Palate Speech in 2001 and has recently co-authored The Clinician’s Guide to Treating Cleft Palate Speech.

David L. Jones, Ph.D.
David Jones is a Professor in the Division of Communication Disorders at the University of Wyoming.  He has over 20 years of clinical experience in instrumental assessment of laryngeal and velopharyngeal function.  He has served on the Editorial Board of The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, the Board of Directors of the Cleft Palate Foundation, and the Executive Council for the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association.  He has over 50 publications and presentations in the area of cleft palate.  His research interests include outcomes of cleft palate treatment, the physiology of velopharyngeal function, and the production and perception of disordered nasalization.  

Meeting Agenda

08:30    Introduction and Objectives
08:40    Team Presentations (download template - Right click and select "Save Target As")
09:40    Collation of all information from team presentations
10:00    Morning Tea
10:30    "Management of Early Speech and Language Skills in Children with Cleft Palate" - Mary Hardin-Jones
11:00    Formulation of ACLAPA Early Speech and Language Guidelines
                - What do we need to do  ?
                - How do we best do it ?
                - When do we need to do it ?
                - What tools do we need ?
                - What data do we need to collect ?
                - Who needs to manage this ?
12:30    Lunch
01:30    Formulation of ACLAPA Early Speech and Language Guidelines
02:30    "Instrumental Assessment of the Velopharyngeal Mechanism" - David Jones
03:00    Afternoon Tea
03:30    Instrument / Objective Assessment Discussion
05:00    Close

2007 ACLAPA Preconference Orthodontics Meeting:
"Even better outcomes for cleft patients?"
September 19, 2007 (Afternoon) - Rydges Hotel, Melbourne, Australia
Free - Included in Conference Registration

The Australasian Cleft Lip and Palate Association executive committee is very proud to announce that we will be holding a half-day (afternoon) pre-conference meeting for Orthodontists at the Rydges Hotel on Wednesday September 19. Dr Peter Fowler, Orthodontist from Christchurch, New Zealand, convened a very successful and similar workshop for New Zealand Orthodontists in 2006 with considerable consensus reached between New Zealand Orthodontists on data collection and treatment protocols. We are delighted that Peter has agreed to chair this afternoon preconference session.

The main objectives of the workshop are to

• Stimulate discussion on the establishment of a standardized record collection protocol that could be implemented by all orthodontists who treat cleft lip and palate patients in our region
• Allowing these records to be securely stored and accessible for comparative audit studies
• Stimulate discussion on the type of outcomes measures orthodontists should be undertaking for clinical audit

To help achieve these objectives, could all Orthodontists please complete this questionnaire (Right click and select "Save Target As"), and return by email to peter.fowler@braces.co.nz  before the 14th September. This questionnaire is applicable even if you are not attending the conference. The questionnaire also includes a template based on the Clinical Standards Advisory Group (CSAG)-Cleft Lip and/or Palate 1998 recommendations on what is considered to be the minimal record collection data set and timing, but modified by a group of orthodontists in New Zealand who treat cleft lip and palate patients following a similar workshop held in 2005.

Your participation in this preconference workshop is strongly encouraged and appreciated.

Dr David Gillett (ACLAPA President)

Orthodontic Preconfernce Workshop Agenda

12:30    Lunch (common lunch with Speech Pathologists)
01:30    Introduction and Objectives
01:40    Pre-Conference Workshop:
            Measuring Orthodontic Outcomes with Reference to Cleft Patients
            Data Collection: What, When and How ?
            Discussion of Record Collection Protocols Across Australia and New Zealand
            Inter-Centre Communication: How can we do better ?
03:00    Afternoon Tea
03:30    Discussion
05:00    Close

2007 ACLAPA Preconference ENT Meeting:
"ENT Issues in Patients with Orofacial Clefting"
September 19, 2007 (Afternoon) - Rydges Hotel, Melbourne, Australia
Free - Included in Conference Registration

The Australasian Cleft Lip and Palate Association executive committee is very proud to announce that we will also be holding a half-day (afternoon) pre-conference meeting for ENT Surgeons involved in cleft / craniofacial care at the Rydges Hotel on Wednesday September 19. For further information about this meting, please contact Dr Shyan Vijayasakaran, ENT Surgeon from Perth. Further information will be available shortly on this website.

Dr David Gillett (ACLAPA President)

Enquiries about additional working groups should be directed to Dr David Gillett: president@cleft.org.au.