About This Website

This website is information-based and intended for parents of children with cleft lip/palate and for speech pathologists who are working with children with velopharyngeal insufficiency. Basic information about "cleft palate speech" is provided to educate and help guide parents and professionals to appropriate referral sources. After reading the information, if you feel that you, your child or client may have VPI, referral sources are included.

This information is made available to you by Virginia “Ginny” Dixon-Wood who has worked in the area of oro-facial and craniofacial speech disorders for 25 years. Ms. Dixon-Wood is dedicated to educating parents and speech pathologists about the symptoms and treatment available for children with velopharyngeal insufficiency. She has worked on the University of Florida Craniofacial Team for 25 years and teaches a course in applied craniofacial anomalies in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at UF.

Ms. Dixon-Wood has many publications in the area of cleft palate speech disorders and has written a chapter on specific speech therapy techniques in Kenneth Bzoch’s 5th edition of Communication Disorders Related to Cleft Lip and Palate which will be published in 2004 by Pro-Ed, Austin, TX.

Speech CEU's - Ginny has done multiple workshops on evaluating and treating speech disorders related to cleft lip/palate. If you or your organization is interested, please contact her at vdixonwd@yahoo.com.