I made the case here back in May that there should be a national week or month for cleft lip and palate kids in the US, just as there is in the UK. Fortunately, we don't have to wait for some good news on this front.. There's already time set aside for bullying prevention, a cause cleft affeted kids rally behind because of the fierce bullying most of them experience growing up. No Bullying Month—October Bullying Prevention Month was started by PACER, a national parent center serving all … [Read more...]
Appearance, shape, race: top reasons for bullying. Solutions?
I flew over Elmira, New York early this summer and was reminded of the famous Elmira Reformatory which was renown for Warden Zebulon Brockway's rehabilitation ideas, including that of indeterminate sentencing. Brockway became so popular he was elected mayor of Elmira at age 77. The Elmira Correctional Facility is a major institutiion and employer in town. No wonder, then, that schools in Elmira have come up with some great projects to combat bullying. A recent story in the local Star … [Read more...]
Speech pathology and cleft lip.
We've all been there. Embarrassment over mispronunciations, esp when we travel or are a "stranger in a strange land." Someone may endearingly call you "sweaty" when they mean "sweety." Sometimes we're teased or laughed at, like the Nepalese guy who learns to call a wallet a ''purse" and chap-stick "lipstick." He doesn't understand why the uproar in America when he asks, "Where's my purse? Where's my lipstick?" Speech Pathology Week. Well, you can imagine the plight of cleft lip and palate … [Read more...]
Cleft lip Katie’s shot at Miss Canada.
A while back I introduced Katie Barrow, a young stunner who wasn't letting a cleft lip get in the way of her dream to compete in the Miss Canada Globe beauty pageant. I chronicled her efforts to raise money to get to the event in Toronto this month. She did bake sales, auctions, flea markets, and dance club events to finance all the expenses (outfits, gowns, etc.) associated with the pageant. Cleft lip isn't holding Katie Barrow back. Recently, twenty-year old Katie has had to practice her … [Read more...]
Cleft Heart’s portrayal of cleft lip experience touted.
Cleft Lip and Palate Love. Am pleased to announce several newspapers and magazines have taken note of Cleft Heart: Chasing Normal. In one magazine, the open secret of Cleft Heart's success was revealed along with some secrets of once hush-hush, hoary senior societies (the cover story of the July/August 2014 issue of YAM). In another magazine, writers note that "Schonborn['s] just-released memoir, Cleft Heart, has received great reviews from newspapers, review … [Read more...]
Bullied Leading Ladies?
Just finished a guest blog on bullying (at ) and thought following up Disney's Disabled Dishes with Disney's Bullied Babes might be appropriate. I apologize for letting humorous phrases trump seriousness here. However, humor is an occupational hazard for writers and professors, like me, who probe violence for a living. It's like the "gallows humor" which police and health professionals resort to in order to cope. Bullied and abused Cartoon Figures. To raise awareness and trigger … [Read more...]
Celeb praises the hero who overcame his cleft lip —II.
Cleft Lip Millionaire. Former UK game show star Carol Vorderman idolizes her millionaire big brother—not because he is a successful millionaire, but because he overcame the hardship of being born with a cleft lip and palate. In a story published in June the well-known game show host wrote that her brother had "a disfigurement so bad he was whisked away from my mother the moment he was born.... The midwife, who ran from the room with the baby … [Read more...]