Assessment of the patient with cleft lip and palate. A developmental approach.

Children with cleft lip and palate require interdisciplinary team care from infancy through adolescence. An understanding of developmental stages allows the cleft palate team to adapt and integrate its services into the rapidly changing life of the child. This article discusses the maturational, developmental stages of childhood and the services the child with cleft lip and palate and the child's family deserve through each stage. Health care providers in all settings may continue to provide appropriate care for all patients with cleft lip and palate, despite the challenges of a changing health care environment, by emphasizing the needs of the child in all developmental stages.