The theme for this year’s conference was “Partnerships: Patients, Families and Cleft Practitioners.” We enjoyed an informative conference on the need for partnerships in among Palestinians in the care of children with clefts. Palestinian speakers were joined by supporting faculty from the United States (See Syllabus).Topics ranged from the genetics of clefting to the need for partnering with the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Palestinian surgeons, nurses, physiotherapists, speech pathologists, dentists and orthodontists participated. Participants also came from several local universities, including Al Quds University, Bir Zeit University, An Najah University, and The Arab American University of Jenin.
Speech and Language Pathologists provided the basics of speech evaluation in patients with clefts. Surgeons emphasized the importance of partnerships with other disciplines. Researchers discussed the development of a database. Geneticists gave useful insight on novel mutations among Palestinians that cause syndromic clefting. Nurses discussed important aspects of care including feeding, coping strategies, and the need for social worker holistic evaluation of patients and their families. But most importantly, patients and families shared personal stories about living with the stigma of clefts.
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