Zajac Co-authors Book on Cleft Lip and Palate
Dr. David Zajac, professor in the Department of Dental Ecology, is the co-author of a new textbook released this month entitled, “Evaluation and Management of Cleft Lip and Palate: A Developmental Perspective.” The book is published by Plural Publishing of San Diego, Calif. and co-authored by Dr. Linda D. Vallino, head of the Craniofacial Outcomes Research Laboratory (CORL) in the Center for Pediatric Auditory and Speech Sciences, Wilmington, Del.
“We are excited about the book because current texts are either primarily research or clinical based. We have attempted to strike a balance between the two,” said Zajac. “We offer new perspectives on the etiology of some speech disorders associated with cleft palate based on recent evidence, some generated by our studies. We also emphasize that many articulation differences of school-aged children with repaired cleft lip and palate arise from dental and occlusal anomalies.”
The book supplies an understanding of cleft lip, cleft palate and other abnormalities, and the current research about evaluation and management of the conditions. Designed for speech-language pathology students, audiology students, dental and medical students and others, the graduate-level text examines the standard of care developmentally and supplements that information with case studies to give the text real-world examples.
“We hope that students as well as established clinicians will find the book useful as a roadmap to the care of individuals with cleft lip and palate and other craniofacial conditions across the life span,” said Zajac.
