Cleft Lip and Palate Family Retreat | August 9, 2025 | Building Hope and Smiles

Add to Calendar Cleft Lip and Palate Family Retreat | August 9, 2025 | Building Hope and Smiles 8/9/2025 8:00:00 AM 8/9/2025 9:00:00 PM America/New_York For More Details: https://nationwidechildrens.cloud-cme.com/course/courseoverview?EID=43973 Description: Building Hope and SmilesOur inaugural Cleft Lip and Palate Family Conference, Building Hope and Dreams, is designed for your entire family. There will be inspirational and educational sessions for parents and caregivers, concurrent activities for kids, and combined experiences for all. The program will allow you to learn and to network with other families while allowing children and teens... Cherry Valley Hotel false MM/DD/YYYY


Date & Location
Saturday, August 9, 2025, 8:00 AM - 9:00 PM, Cherry Valley Hotel

Credits
Non-Accredited (19.00 hours), Non-Physician Attendance (19.00 hours)

Overview

Building Hope and Smiles
Our inaugural Cleft Lip and Palate Family Conference, Building Hope and Dreams, is designed for your entire family. There will be inspirational and educational sessions for parents and caregivers, concurrent activities for kids, and combined experiences for all. The program will allow you to learn and to network with other families while allowing children and teens make new friends, learn new things, and embrace the understanding that their future is truly limitless. 

Conference Dates
Saturday, August 9th from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Join us on Friday night, August 8th, as we kick off our family retreat with a campfire eventwith smores an beverages. Registration link will be sent once registration is complete. 

Who Should Attend
Parents, guardians, family members, caregivers or children who have a cleft lip and/or palate. This is a family friendly conference, but children must be accompanied by an adult. 

Confirmation
A confirmation email will be sent to all participating families. 

Retreat Location                                                                                                           

Cherry Valley Hotel                                                                                                                             

2299 Cherry Valley Rd. SE                                                                                                               

Newark, OH 43055

 

Conference Agenda:

8 a.m. - Breakfast and Program Check In/Welcome

9 a.m. - Keynote: Navigating the Cleft Journey: Wisdom from Parents

  • Amy Mendillo, MM, MPP

9:45 a.m. - Tip for Parents for Navigating Social Media and Cyberbullying

  • Lara McKenzie, MA, PhD

10:15 a.m. - Break

10:30 a.m. - Teen and Young Adult Panel

  • Ari Rabkin, PhD

11 a.m. - Preparing for Surgery: Strategies to support Healthy Coping and Resilience 

  • Canice Crerand, PhD | Ari Rabkin, PhD

11:45 a.m. - Family Lunch

12:45 - 1:30 p.m. Breakout Session #1

  A. Primary Surgery: Cleft Lip and Palate Repair

-Richard Kirschner, MD | Amanda Smith, RN, BSN

  B. Secondary Surgery: VPD (Speech) Surgery and Orthognathic (Jaw) Surgery

  -Gregory D. Pearson, MD | Adriane Baylis, PhD, CCC-SLP | Andrew Linkugel, MD

  C. Learning Challenges in Children with Cleft Lip and Palate

  -Ari Rabkin, PhD

1:45 - 2:30 p.m. Breakout Session #2

  D. Speech Therapy for Children with Cleft Lip and Palate, Ages 3 and Up

  -Heidi Wyse, MA, CCC-SLP | Kayla Bruns, MS, CCC-SLP

  E. The First Years: Feeding and Early Development

  -Amanda Smith, BSN, RN, CPN | Azure Koehler, FNP | Hailey Blosser, MA, CCC-SLP | Gabriela Echevarria Moats, PhD

  F. Alveolar Bone Grafting: Orthodontics and Surgery

  -Richard Kirschner, MD | Kaitrin Kramer, DDS, MS, PhD

2:45 p.m. - General Dental and Orthodontics and Your Child

  •  Kara Morris, DDS

3:30 p.m. - Parent Panel

  • Amy Mendillo, MM, MPP

4:15 p.m. - Wrap Up

5-6 p.m. - Family Dinner

6-9 p.m. - Family Fun Night- pizza dinner followed by a movie and popcorn.

 

Youth Sessions:

Separate fun programs will be held for teens and school age children. Childcare is provided for young children ages 3 and up who are potty trained. 

Saturday afternoon, teens and school age children will take a field trip to The Works: Ohio Center for Art, History and Technology, and interactive museum complete with the SciDome: Planetarium. For more information log onto www.attheworks.org 


Registration

Family Retreat Cost:

  • Adults | Free

  • Children (18 and under) | Free

  • Health Care Professionals | $120

     

Questions?

Please email [email protected] or call (614) 355-0662


Additional Information

Cancellation Policy 

Cancellations received in writing no less than 14 days before the course will be refunded, less a 30% administrative fee. No refunds will be made on cancellations received after that date. Please send cancellation requests to [email protected].