Cleft Lip & Palate

[Anonymous]

Hello, I just wanted to say I do not agree with the use of the term hare lip in the Harry Potter book. I am 31 years old and have had to live with this birth defect and suffer through ridicule at all levels of schooling. Kids can be cruel and this statement only adds fuel to the fire, especially a book targeted at this age group. I am also writing this response to find some individuals, with email, with cleft lip and palate who wouldn't mind corresponding with me and discussing how they have dealt with their birth defect through out their lives. At 31 years of age I am finally trying to deal with my birth defect and how it has shaped my life and made me who I am today. My email address is howard.park@attbi.com.

[Jeff Alterman]

I realize that it wasn't easy for you to live with a cleft lip & palate. I too have both a cleft lip & palate, but thankfully they are both very
minor and nearly unnoticeable. Lastly, I never needed surgery for my cleft. There are some issues however which will be explained below.


I should consider myself lucky in this area since I have evidence that I could have been born with a severe to extreme
bilateral cleft lip and a cleft palate and the cleft could have run up towards the eye on the right side. Thankfully this didn't
happen, but I still have a cleft though it is minor. I have to explain it at some length since the cleft is extensive. Though the
soft palate itself is intact, it is positioned too low so my speech is a little nasal and I tend to make a weak to moderate snoring
like noise when I breathe through my mouth hard. The hard palate is probably completely cleft and the cleft is covered over
by the skin. Then the cleft divides at the front tip of the hard palate and runs through the alveolar ridge on BOTH sides. The
location of these clefts [probably fused] are indicated by my retained upper baby canine teeth My pre-maxilla which is the
bone that supports the four upper front teeth is dropped slightly so those teeth are a little too low. I also have a tiny "harelip"
that shows up as a small notch in the red area on the right side of my upper lip beneath my right nostril when I raise it. The
right side of my upper lip tends to rise before the left side. My nose also looks a little funny if you look carefully. None of these
issues associated with the cleft are serious thankfully. The worst thing with the cleft is that it hurts sometimes because there
are a lot of nerves within the palate itself. Thankfully I'm able to deal with the pain from my cleft.


I also have a mild form of autism that is called Asperger's Syndrome. This caused me a good deal of difficulty during childhood and I still
have a few problems because of this developmental disorder. I'm somewhat immature and hyper as a result of this peculiar disorder. Both the
minor cleft and the Asperger's Syndrome together make me a peculiar sort of man who is 39 years old.


I have some pictures of myself on the Internet that you might want to look at.


Go to
<a href="http://mmd.foxtail.com/Pictures/coneyIslandApollo.html">http://mmd.foxtail.com/Pictures/coneyIslandApollo.html</a> and you'll see it there. Then I have another one on the same site and you can go to
<a href="http://mmd.foxtail.com/Pictures/glenecho.html">http://mmd.foxtail.com/Pictures/glenecho.html</a> to look at that picture. I'm not doing too badly for someone who has both a minor cleft and
Asperger's Syndrome.


I think in the end, try to have a positive attitude about yourself. The cleft certainly wasn't the worst thing in the world. True the cleft wasn't a
very nice thing that happened, but it was correctable and I'm sure that you look quite presentable and there is nothing to be ashamed of. If
your speech sounds good, you shouldn't have too much to worry about. If you don't like the way the area above your upper lip looks, you
might want to try and grow a mustache if possible so that you can hide the fact that you had a cleft lip. These and a few other things can help
you to feel better about yourself.


Jeff Alterman at alterman@bestweb.net

[Calvero]

Hi:). I'm 29 and was born with cleft lip and palate as well. I posted about the Harry Potter book a few months ago here, at <a href="http://www.cleft.org/_discussion/00000d7c.htm">http://www.cleft.org/_discussion/00000d7c.htm</a> . In addition to what I said there, harelip is still pretty common use even by some in the medical profession (sad to say) in the UK which is where Rowling, the writer, is from. But it is slowly beginning to turn around to using cleft lip instead, thank goodness .


I'm almost over my self-confidence problems.. I've found different ways to get over most of it. Somehow through it all I got married and am now a mom of one. I tell my story at <a href="http://www.borntobecleft.com">http://www.borntobecleft.com</a> ...it's almost ready for an update too .


And as Judy was nice enough to mention (thanks Judy ). I also run the Cleft Club at <a href="http://www.cleftclub.com">http://www.cleftclub.com</a> which has people born cleft and also parents of cleft children. Pictures, messages, chat and stuff like that. You're welcome to join and post there in addition to here.


Kim

[Jeff Alterman]

Like many of those who were affected by clefts, I guess that it was hard for you to deal with it in certain respects. Like many normal people of your age, you're married and you have one child who thankfully isn't cleft. I'm too a little self-conscious of my minor cleft since my mouth often feels a little funny. I try not to let it bother me too much, and I never let it get in the way od doing things that a normal person does. Sure, I'm slightly nasal when I speak and my cleft hurts me a little bit sometimes, but it wasn't the worst thing in the world for me. At the same time I'm glad that I never had to go through cleft surgery since my cleft is quite minor. There are issues because of the cleft, but none of them are serious. I know of a woman who was born with a partial cleft palate (cleft soft palate and a small notch in the hard palate) and she had to go through cleft surgery. Thankfully she only needed one surgery and eventually her speech impediment disappeared. Now she is married and she is a mother of three children (None of them cleft).


Jeff Alterman at alterman@bestweb.net