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Exclusive content @
Friday, December 2, 2011
www.southerndigest.com
Volume 57, Issue 18
Death casts shadow over bands see State & Nation, page 6
SU women start road swing at UL-Lafayette see Sports, page 7
Check out the newest SUBR alumni see Fall 2011 Graduates List, page 8
Speech students address clefts Evan Taylor
The Southern Digest
The Southern University department of Speech, Language, and Pathology graduate students discussed research on cleft lips and cleft palates at their poster session Tuesday. Topics included quality of life, surgical methods, birth anomalies effects, and intervention and support for those affected by the condition. According to the Center for Disease Control, “One in 33 babies are born with a birth defect.” Meosha Smith presented her research on the quality of life of those with cleft lips or cleft palates. “The purpose of my research was to find out are people with cleft palates or cleft lips able to live a good quality of life. Overall they can live a good life because of the options for treatment, support, speech and language therapy, and surgery,” Smith said. One in 940 babies born are born with a cleft lip while one in 1,574 babies are born with a cleft palate. Natalie Newton and Lauren Gongre reported their research on surgical methods to improve speech and general oral functions.
“The most common surgical methods to correct cleft lips and palates are reconstructive plastic surgery and palatoplasty,” Newton said. Palatoplasty is also called uranoplasty and is a surgery to restore the form and function of the oral palate. “Orthognathic surgery corrects jaw issues. Bones can be added or removed and the jaw is re-aligned. Surgery is done to improve functions such as, eating, chewing and breathing,” Gongre said. Britni Guilbeau presented her research concerning the support in the form of family networking for families affected by cleft lips and palates. “The Children’s craniofacial association allows families to form a community; sharing testimonies, and aiding in the coping process,” Guilbeau said. Natasha Etienne’s research discussed the importance of early intervention for children with facial anomalies. “It’s important to work with the child on building their consonant inventory, increasing vocabulary, and promoting awareness of oral airflow. Using specific words that are familiar can build a child’s vocabulary and work on their speech,” Etienne said. Kim Reggio’s research
photo by keldric nash/digest
The Department of Speech Pathology presented a poster session sponsored by Dr. Regina Enwefa’s graduate class called Seminar in Cleft Palate, which allowed other undergrate students and professors to learn more information about living with the condition of cleft palate. One of the students, Lauren Gongre presented her topic on Orthonnatic surgey to Graduate School Dean Mwalimu Shujaa.
concerned effects of speech and dental anomalies associated with cleft lips and cleft palates. “The dentists and orthodontists have to work together to correct and address the anomalies. 36 percent or more have dental anomalies associated with their cleft palate or lip effecting the certain sounds that are made,” Reggio said. Brooke Burks discussed velopharyngeal dysfunction and
the different treatment options and devices. “An evaluation can be done with a listening tube. More invasive is nasopharyngoscopy and videofluoroscopy. Speech therapy is not always the best option. The structure for therapy has to be in place,” Burks said. Nasopharyngoscopy examines the nasal airway while videofluoroscopy is a motion x-ray study of the throat.
All of the graduate students that presented their research are part of A graduate seminar on Cleft palate class taught by Regina Enwefa. The class worked together to conduct research and present on the topic. For more information visit www.cleftadvocate.org or www. cleftline.org for resources for those affected by cleft lips and palates.
La. Democrats look to rebuild grassroots base Melinda Deslatte The Associated Press
After a string of losses and the inability to field a slate of statewide candidates this fall, Louisiana’s Democratic Party is retrenching. Party leaders say they are focused on rebuilding local support, re-establishing parish leadership committees and attracting candidates with an eye to the 2012 congressional elections. They’re planning a 64-parish “Back to Basics” tour at the start of the new year, to reach out to local leaders. “We recognize that the grassroots of the Democratic Party in Louisiana have been allowed to kind of wither, and we’re going to give a real working to grassroots on the parish level,” Louisiana Democratic Party Chairman Claude “Buddy” Leach said Thursday. Republicans say it’s a lost cause, that Democrats have lost their clout and will
remain the minority party in Louisiana. Democrats say their ability to hang onto legislative seats in this fall’s elections show they can win races when organized. However, the Democratic Party has slipped substantially in power in a state that had remained firmly blue for decades. Democrats couldn’t woo a well-funded challenger to Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal this fall — or even a full slate of candidates for all seven statewide positions on the ballot. The GOP will continue to hold all those elected jobs when the new term begins in January. Republicans took the majorities in both the state House and Senate over the last year for the first time since Reconstruction, and Democrats didn’t regain seats in the October and November elections, though they lost fewer than pundits had predicted. “The era of Democrats having anything more than paltry influence on policy is over, for the foreseeable future,” Jeffrey
Sadow, an associate professor of political science at LSU-Shreveport, wrote in his conservative political blog. Leach said he’s focusing heavily on reengaging former local officials, lawmakers and Democratic leaders in party activities and candidate recruitment. The party’s hired a communications and research director and started a new blog, while trying to revive fundraising efforts and working with national party leaders to help find and groom candidates for the upcoming congressional election cycle. “It’s my belief that when men and women see Democrats in our various communities speaking up on issues and having active meetings and town forums that these candidates will emerge. There are men and women out there who have a desire to serve,” Leach said. The Louisiana Democratic Party has successfully restarted parish executive committees in East Feliciana, West Feliciana, East Carroll and Claiborne
the official student newspaper of southern university and A&m college, baton rouge, louisiana
parishes, giving them local party infrastructure in 60 of the state’s 64 parishes. Democrats hold one of Louisiana’s congressional seats. Leach said they’ll concentrate their resources on trying to regain at least two additional districts, the northwest Louisiana based seat held by Republican U.S. Rep. John Fleming and the Baton Rouge-area seat held by U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy. They’ll have to overcome the overwhelming unpopularity of President Barack Obama in a state trending more Republican, where Obama’s approval ratings remain low in poll after poll. Renee Lapeyrolerie, the executive director of the state Democratic Party, said the fall legislative elections showed Democrats that they can win elections even when outspent if they focus on local issues. She said voters can distinguish between national party ideology and local politics.