Latest Blogs

Below is a list of blogs written by ACPA members and the National Office Team.

If you are interested in writing a blog, please email Alyssa Kirkman for more information.

*Disclaimer-The American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association claims no responsibility for the content published by others on its web site. Published content does not imply endorsement of the organization or the content of the meetings.

Training Courses for Cleft and Craniofacial Professionals

By ACPA posted 2 days ago
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ACPA offers online education for all cleft and craniofacial professionals. Visit ACPA Online Learning to take an on-demand course at any time – or to register for an upcoming webinar. All webinars are available as on-demand courses within a week of the live session. ACPA offers courses on a variety of topics, including: Surgical Procedures Speech and Audiology Psychosocial Outcomes Ethical Issues Care Coordination And more. Register for a live or on-demand webinar today.   Register at least 10 days before the webinar and use code EARLYBIRD to receive the discounted rate. View ACPA’s catalog of courses to view pricing and continuing education ...
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ACPA Approved Teams Spread Awareness with Proclamations

By Erin Mallis posted 3 days ago
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ACPA Approved Teams across the country are spreading awareness about cleft and craniofacial differences this month. Many teams received proclamations from local city and state governments, officially recognizing July as National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness Month. The ACPA Approved Teams at Duke Cleft and Craniofacial Center, West Virginia Medicine Cleft Craniofacial Team and McLane Children's Specialty Clinic received proclamations from their local government and presented at local town council meetings. In addition to receiving a proclamation, the West Virginia Medicine Cleft Craniofacial Team is continuing its awareness celebration into September with ...
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Save the Date for ACPA’s National Day of Giving

By Charlene Bell posted 5 days ago
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ACPA’s National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness Month is off to a great start! From shared stories to events hosted by ACPA Approved Teams, people across the nation are going the extra mile to promote awareness about the lifelong care journey experienced by many here in the U.S. As we look ahead to exciting awareness events in the coming weeks, remember to mark your calendars for ACPA’s National Day of Giving on July 31, 2019. On July 31, 2019, we invite you to celebrate awareness month by making a gift to ACPA. Generous support of ACPA helps optimize outcomes for individuals with oral cleft and craniofacial conditions through education, research, interdisciplinary ...
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CHOP's 4th Annual Awareness Day Event

By Nancy Folsom posted 9 days ago
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On Monday July 8 th , The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Cleft – Craniofacial program held its 4 th annual full day event centered on raising awareness. Tables with educational materials related to cleft and craniofacial differences as well as strategies to address bullying, pediatric dental care, importance of eye exams were all available to our visitors and staff. This year’s theme was focused on super heroes with our motto being “Kindness is my Superpower”. Colorful balloons, superhero stickers and tattoos, as well as staff designed coloring pages were available for our attendees. A Step and Repeat backdrop was available for our guests to take and ...
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31 Days of Craniofacial Awareness

By Alexis Giannattasio posted 10 days ago
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This July, ACPA Member Justine C. Lee, MD, PhD, is continuing her annual celebration on social media – #31DaysofCraniofacialAwareness. For every day of July, Justine shares encouraging words and stories from patients, along with helpful information and resources about cleft and craniofacial differences. “I started #31DaysofCraniofacialAwareness a few years ago because a lot of resources are focused mainly on the actual medical and surgical treatment, rather than on patients and families who have come through the other side. While support groups and systems are available, a lot of patients or parents who are doing well may not necessarily be part of these ...
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Issue 56.6 of The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal is now available

By ACPA posted 11 days ago
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The new issue of The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal (CPCJ) is now available. All ACPA Members receive a free subscription to CPCJ - just log-in to your ACPA account to access the online version.   Not a member and want journal access?  Join now ($240 for 2018 National Active Membership) or purchase an individual subscription ($324 for print and e-access). Major Complications and 30-Day Morbidity for Single Jaw Versus Bimaxillary Orthognathic Surgery as Reported by NSQIP Jonathan Bacos, BA, Sergey Y. Turin, MD, Elbert E. Vaca, MD, Arun K. Gosain, MD Quantitative Evaluation of Cephalometric Radiographs of Patients With Hemifacial Microsomia ...
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Spread Awareness on Social Media this July

By Alyssa Kirkman posted 15 days ago
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We're spreading cleft and craniofacial awareness all month! Let others know that you're celebrating with us by trying out this awareness profile picture frame on Facebook during July. https://www.facebook.com/profilepicframes… You can also spread awareness by using ACPA's Banner or profile picture on your personal page. As always, let us know how you are spreading awareness this July, and we'll share it on the blog and/or social media.  Just tag us in your post or email alyssa.kirkman@acpa-cpf.org . #ACPA #Awaren
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ACPA Publication: Preparing for Surgery

By Catherine Choi posted 17 days ago
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Most children born with clefts undergo one or two surgical procedures during their first year: cleft lip repair and/or cleft palate repair surgeries. Before surgery, many families often have questions about how to prepare for surgery and they wonder who to ask. Preparing for Surgery , previously Cleft Surgery , is a newly revised ACPA publication written by cleft and craniofacial experts in the field. This booklet covers the basics about cleft lip and palate repair and addresses common questions parents have for teams. Parents often ask, “What is my role in my child’s surgery?” Preparing for Surgery provides an answer. “A primary caregiver plays an ...
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Upcoming Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness Month Activities

By Alexis Giannattasio posted 19 days ago
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July’s National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness Month is here! This year, ACPA is encouraging all members of the community, from families to teams, to find unique and relevant ways to build cleft and craniofacial awareness. During the month of July, ACPA is spreading awareness by connecting with other patient facing organizations, sharing stories from the community, receiving local and state proclamations, and more. On July 18 from 4:00-6:00 PM ET, ACPA Executive Director Wendy-Jo Toyama will share about awareness month on Dr. Radio with host Pat Chibbaro, member of the ACPA Board of Directors. Locally, ACPA will share a public service announcement ...
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ACPA Kicks off Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness Month in Chapel Hill

By Alexis Giannattasio posted 23 days ago
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National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness Month is just days away. Last night, ACPA’s National Office Team kicked off the month at a Town Council Meeting in Chapel Hill to receive an official proclamation, presented by Council Member Schaevitz. ACPA Intern Garrett, born with cleft lip and palate, accepted the proclamation and shared about his journey with cleft. “I am excited to have the opportunity to spread awareness about cleft and craniofacial differences during July because, like many of the people ACPA reaches, I was born with cleft lip and palate and received care throughout my journey from the ACPA Approved Team at UNC’s Craniofacial Center,” Garrett ...
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CPCJ Announces Record Impact Factor

By Alyssa Kirkman posted 24 days ago
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The 2018 Impact Factor for the CPCJ has been released and CPCJ achieved its highest impact factor to date­–a factor of 1.471. Impact factor is the average number of times articles from the journal published in the past two years have been cited in the year. CPCJ is ranked 56/90 in the “Dentistry, Oral Surgery and Medicine” category, and 132/203 in the “Surgery” category.   #Journal #New
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Coming Soon: Abstracts for ACPA’s 77th Annual Meeting

By Alexis Giannattasio posted 25 days ago
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ACPA Member Leo Urbinelli, MD, MA from the ACPA Approved Team at Doernbecher Children's Hospital encourages everyone to attend and send abstracts to ACPA’s 77 th Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon. In the video, Leo mentions just a few of the many attractions offered in Portland, from hiking trails to food carts to sightseeing. Mark your calendars for ACPA’s 77 th Annual Meeting March 31 – April 4, 2020 and watch the blog for more updates. #AnnualMeetin
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Upcoming ACPA Webinars

By ACPA posted 30 days ago
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ACPA offers educational webinars to cleft and craniofacial care providers worldwide.   Register for a live or on-demand webinar today.   Register at least 10 days before the webinar and use code EARLYBIRD to receive the discounted rate. Upcoming webinars include: Demystifying Cleft Palate Speech: A Primer for the new SLP and Non-SLP members of the craniofacial team July 3, 2019 6:00 PM ET Clinical Audit for Psychosocial Outcome: Strategies for Identifying Families at Risk July 17, 2019 6:00 PM ET Hemifacial Microsomia: An Interdisciplinary Integrated Approach to Care August 15, 2019 2:00 PM ET The Oral Examination: Normal and ...
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Increasing Member Value and Engagement

By Kristina Aldridge posted 06-17-2019
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Hello ACPA Members, For several years, the ACPA Membership Committee, with the ACPA Board, has been working to increase membership value and engagement.  ACPA has introduced several new ways for members to engage: a diversity and inclusion roundtable held at the ACPA Annual Meeting, Special Interest Groups, the ACPA Online Community, a revamped Annual Meeting Mentor Program, and Transitional Membership for those moving from student to professional, just to name a few.  The ACPA Membership Committee members served as consultants on the new ACPA and ACPA Family Websites and on the Visiting Scholar Program that ACPA will be relaunching soon. As ACPA members ...
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50% off ACPA Webinars for Student Members

By Alyssa Kirkman posted 06-10-2019
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 ACPA Student Members can now enroll in any ACPA Online Learning session for 50% off the ACPA Member rate. Visit http://learning.acpa-cpf.org and use the coupon code summerreading by June 30, 2019 to receive the discount on any live or on-demand session.     Session topics include: Audiology for Teams Mulitlingual/Multicultural Cleft Cases Cleft Orthognathic Surgery Hemifacial Microsomia Cleft Palate Speech Therapy Transition of Care 22Q Ethical Issues in Care Cleft Lip Repair Economics of Team Care And More All webinars are available as on-demand sessions within 3-business days. View a list of ACPA live and on-demand ...
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ACPA Publication: Information About Surgical Scars

By Alexis Giannattasio posted 06-06-2019
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Many patients and families have questions about their scars after surgery such as, “How can I make a new scar look better?” and “Will a scar disappear?” Others have questions down the road such as, “How can I make an older scar less visible?” In Q&A format, ACPA’s fact sheet, Information About Surgical Scars , provides answers from experts in the cleft and craniofacial field. A common question addressed in the fact sheet is, “What happens to a scar over time?” The fact sheet says: "At first, a new scar usually looks red, raised off the skin, and fairly hard to the touch. A scar peaks in color, size and texture after several months (about three months ...
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2020 ACPA Board of Directors Nominations Due Friday, June 14

By ACPA posted 06-05-2019
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Nominations for the 2020 ACPA Board of Directors are now open. The ACPA Nominating Committee strives for a balance of disciplines, gender, geography, institutional, racial, ethnic and other demographics. Please keep this in mind as you review the 2019 ACPA Board of Directors and consider your nominations. Self-nominations will also be accepted from qualified individuals. The Nominating Committee is accepting nominations from current voting ACPA Members for the following positions: President-Elect: Serves on the Board and becomes President after one year.  Should have previous experience serving on the ACPA Board. Vice President-Elect:  Assists ...
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Become an ACPA Approved Team

By Erin Mallis posted 05-30-2019
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The 2019 ACPA Team Approval Application is now available. All cleft and craniofacial teams in the US and Canada are invited to apply to be an ACPA Approved Team. All applications are due July 31, 2019.  All teams up for renewal will receive an email from me.  Please reach out if you are not sure of your renewal date. ACPA Team Approval is for teams that demonstrate they meet the Standards for Approval of Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Teams – standards that identify essential characteristics of quality for team composition and functioning. ACPA Approved Teams  are listed on the website and are available for the general public to reference when choosing ...
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Scholarship Profile: Phoenix

By Catherine Choi posted 05-24-2019
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Phoenix, ACPA’s 2018 Scholarship Recipient, was born with cleft lip and palate. As her high school years ended and graduation approached, Phoenix set out to find a career that balanced both her passions and skills. Since the age of three, Phoenix has trained in classical ballet and explored other dance styles such as contemporary and jazz. When she began searching for career options that best suited her interests, she realized that as much as she loved ballet, it wasn’t a career she wanted to pursue. After listening to an inspiring Ted Talk about finding the “work you love,” Phoenix was drawn to occupational therapy because of the many options she could ...
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The James F. Mulick Educational Scholarship Fund: A Lasting Legacy

By Rachel Simon posted 05-21-2019
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ACPA Member Dianne Altuna MS, CCC-SLP has been a champion of team care for as long she can remember. From the beginning of her career, when she worked with her father as an orthodontic assistant, she witnessed the lasting effects that team care had on people with cleft and craniofacial conditions and set out to follow in her father’s footsteps. Today, her financial support helps ACPA inspire the same passion in students. Like her father, James F. Mulick, DDS, MS, Dianne joined ACPA early on in her career. For Dianne, ACPA’s Annual Meeting was the perfect place to gain knowledge and connect with people she admired; meeting the people whose work she cited in ...
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