Almost four yrs.old,what's next?

[Angie]

My son was born with complete, unilateral cleft lip and palate. He has had both repaired and is nearing his fourth birthday. I am afraid that he is falling through the cracks. His pediatrician says not to worry about speech therapy until he's older. His dentist has not advised me of what the future holds. I have heard of others with clefts who meet with "cleft teams" and worry that I have missed out on something important that Travis needs. Any suggestions or recommendations of who to see? (We live in Southern Indiana.)Thanks.

[Kim]

My 4 yr old has the cleft palate--not the lip. He had 2 surgeries as a baby and we just had him to Children's Hospital today for the cleft palate clinic. He was in the birth to 3 program since his 2nd birthday. When he turned 3, he started the Early Childhood program. With all the added speech therapy, his speech has improved dramatically. Speech therapy is so vital to these kids because they learn very quickly to pronounce words incorrectly. Then, you have to try to reverse these habits. Push for speech therapy!!