Chennai, India

TFW has partnered with some of India's top Speech and Orthodontic specialists to provide rehabilitation for cleft lip and palate. The project is housed at Chennai's Sri Ramachandra University and performs monthly outreach to the rural areas of Thiruvannamalai District.

Even after receiving surgery for cleft lip/cleft palate, many children continue to experience related health problems. A child with CLP is at greater risk of developing ear infections, hearing loss, and speech defects. Dental problems - such as missing, extra, malformed, or displaced teeth, and cavities - also are common in children born with cleft palate.

The SRU project team travels monthly to the rural district to provide the following services:

- Identification of speech and hearing disorders;
- Referrals to ENT specialists;
- Speech therapy, using trained community-based rehabilitation (CBR) workers;
- Dental and orthodontic work.

To date, over 1000 rural children have received Speech & Language therapy and Dental/Orthodontic treatment through the program.

Rehabilitation helps to ensure that these children will go on to have normal speech and hearing, giving them a better chance of performing well in school.

In 2008, the SRU is bringing the innovation of telemedicine to rural communities in Thiruvannamalai. The telemedicine van is equipped with basic medical facilities and electronic connectivity with the SRMC. This allows children with CLP in rural areas to receive speech and hearing assessments without having to travel outside the community.