Cleft Palate Foundation's 2007 Connections Conference Wrap
Eavesdropping and myths reconsidered
Dr. Nancy Berk
If you think the mini van is only an over-large vehicle made for ferrying children, their friends and all their gear, Dr. Nancy Berk invites you to consider some of its other features. “I hear my kids and their friends talking in the back of our mini-van,” she says, “the mini-van is a great place to learn what’s going on with our children.”
Whether you’ve got three ballerinas buckled into the backseat of the two-door Honda you’ve had as long as you’ve had a drivers license or you’re chaperoning a band trip on a 60-passenger school bus, Dr. Berk, in her Connections keynote, The Journey of Parenthood: Life Lessons and Legacies, encouraged parents to find every opportunity to listen to their children and hear what is going on in their lives and experiences.
Dr. Berk went on to reconsider pervasive myths about family life:
- Most families are harmonious.
- A good parent can handle anything.
- Parents control the fate of their children.
- Teen drama is inevitable.
- A family’s success can be measured by its stability.
Parents may have seen a lot of themselves reflected in Dr. Berk’s comments and — if the frequency and volume of laughter coming from Dr. Berk’s keynote session were any indicator – were entertained by what they saw.
Kids had a great time at the Conference.
There may have been a few tears, too. Families who had pre-registered for the conference responded generously to a request to photos that illustrated their ideas of family. Dr. Berk assembled the diverse collection of photos into a slide show presentation that whisked attendees along on fishing trips, to baseball games, and under-the-coffee-table forts.
What to do with what we hear
Having established and sanctioned eavesdropping as a basic parenting competency, the value of listening to children’s voices and responding to what they say about their lives and experiences was an emphasis throughout the day. Treatment team panelist Dr. Bob Mason reminded the group that as children develop they’ll have opinions and ideas about their care and treatment. Parent panelists emphasized that while they felt protective and cautious as parents of young children with a facial birth defect, they listened to what their children wanted to do, try, and where they wanted to go so bravely supported them as they went about their goals.
Participants engage with the speakers.
The Family Panel seated Joseph and Sharon Carabello and their adult son, Zeb, a high-school language-arts teacher; Linda Baily and her 17-year old son Nicholas Leech; and Kathy and George Dostal, parents to 9-year-old Jose Dostal. Conference attendee Cathy Radebaugh of Colorado explained that she was encouraged by the parent-panelists attitudes and “especially by the young men who shared their cleft stories and experiences. I can only hope that someday my son will share his story with as much humor and positiveness as they did.”
Bring your questions
Between the humor and positive reinforcement of the keynote and the empathy and encouragement from the Family Panel’s cleft-care experienced parents and their older children were topic-centered, small-group discussions and the Treatment Team Q & A Panel.
“Parents may have seen a lot of themselves
reflected in Dr. Berk’s comments…”
Conference attendees had opportunities to bring their specific concerns and questions to a range of roundtable discussions:
- The couple relationship – facilitated by Nancy Berk, PhD
- Transitions and services in the early childhood and school-age experience – facilitated by Rebecca Gaither, PhD
- Maximizing the adolescent and teenage experience – facilitated by Zeb Carabello, BA
- Navigating the world of insurance and cleft–craniofacial care – facilitated by Debbie Oliver, Executive Director, AboutFace
- Psychosocial and development issues associated with syndromes – Facilitated by Mark McGrath, MA, NCSP
- The genetics of cleft – craniofacial issues, Kristina Kocsis, MS
The Treatment Team Q & A Panel assembles representatives of a few of the disciplines that serve treatment teams. CPF President, Dr. Gip Seaver introduced the team by explaining that the team panel gave attendees an opportunity to learn more about how a various disciplines coordinate their care and treatment plans as well as give them opportunities to ask general questions that they hadn’t asked of their own team.
left to right: Bob Mason, Kim Uhrich, Gip Seaver, Ginger Hinton, Delora Mount
The team panel was served by first-time Connections panelist Delora Mount, MD, Plastic Surgeon as well as veteran panelists Ginger Hinton, PhD, Speech Language Pathologist; Bob Mason, DMD, PhD, Orthodontist; and Kim Uhrich, MSW, CCSW, Social Worker.
Next year in Philadelphia
Join us in 2008!
Families and individuals: consider joining us on Saturday, April 12, for Connections 2008 in Philadelphia, PA! If you would like to be added to our mailing list, email your contact information to info@cleftline.org.
Health care professionals: consider sharing your professional expertise and experience with Connections 2008! Saturday, April 12, leading into ACPA’s Annual Meeting and Conference April 14-19, we’ll look forward to seeing you in Philadelphia. Call or email the Cleft Palate Foundation and request Save-the-Date cards to distribute to your team’s patients and families during clinics! 1.800.242.5338 or info@cleftline.org.