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Orthodontist Herbert K. Cooper realized in 1938 that his patients with cleft palate and/or cleft lip had multifaceted issues requiring the expertise of many professionals. He set up the first cleft palate team, based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Speech-language pathology was in the neonatal stage of development then, as the American Academy of Speech Correction (later to become ASHA) had existed for only 13 years. The formation of the Lancaster Cleft Palate team predated establishment of the ASHA National Office by 20 years.
In 1943, the Pennsylvania Department of Health-Dental Division offered a short course on obturator construction for dentists, taught by Cloyd Harkins and Herbert Koepp-Baker. From this course, a professional association of individuals caring for persons with cleft palate/lip was born. The organization was initially called the American Academy of Cleft Prosthesis. Like ASHA, it would evolve and grow, and has been known for many years as the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA). ACPA is truly a multidisciplinary organization, with more than 30 professions represented in its membership. Speech-language pathology and audiology are among the most prominent of the professions represented, with at least one council position to be held by an SLP at any given time. Traditionally, at least one executive officer position is held by an SLP as well, and as of this writing, three of the officers are from the field of speech-language pathology.
The histories of ASHA and ACPA include the names of prominent SLPs serving in the leadership of both organizations. Herbert Koepp-Baker, Jack Matthews, and D. C. Spriestersbach served as presidents of both organizations in the middle decades of the 20th century. Other prominent SLPs including Eugene T. McDonald, Betty Jane McWilliams, Kenneth Bzoch, Hughlett Morris, Ralph Shelton, and Betty Jane Phillips were well-known to members of both organizations.
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