looking in the mirror

[steph ldarnell92@hotmail.]

Hello every one, I have a 2 year old daughter who was born with a cleft lip and palate, which was repaired when she was 3 weeks old, they did a wonderful job!My daughter also has down syndrome so she is faced with lots of sterotyping!She doesnt have any facial features of a child with d/s but she will always have a scar and disfiguring of her nose, until more surgeries.My question is how can I raise my daughters self-esteem when the image that you see in a mirror is totally different that what it really looks like? Any one who is affected by a cleft knows what I mean about this please help me! My daughter is so smart , she is 2 and can spell talk, walk , just like any other 2 year old, but hey how many 2 year olds do you know that can spell? See she is brilliant, thank you for you time, God bless

[Kerstin]

Hi,
the best way to raise her self esteem is to tell her, that yes, she is different, but she still is beautyful maybe even more so.
Also, choose the best surgeons to do her repairs, a good repair is so important for the endresult.
You say, that she is extremely bright and that she hasn't got the Down_syndrom facial features. That does puzzle me a bit. Are you sure, that she has Down- Syndrom at all. As especially the facial features are the characteristics for it and usually mentally retardation goes hand in hand with Down Syndrom.
Hm, well,
bye and take care,
and good luck for your beautyful little girl,
Kerstin