May is Better Hearing and Speech month in America. At one end of the age spectrum, this is important for cleft lip/palate kids for whom their early surgeries are just the beginning of their struggle to look and sound ‘normal.’
Seniors as well as Cleft lip kids.
At the other end of the age spectrum, many Boomers and Seniors are facing increasing hearing deficits from natural aging, speech issues from strokes and TIAs, etc. Speech Language Professionals are being minted in huge numbers these days to deal with the “off-the-chart” numbers of people affected.
Craniofacial Week important for cleft lip kids, too.
Relatedly, last week was Craniofacial Week in the US, which features the motto, “Early intervention Counts.” While many of us have seen Operation Smile and Smile Train photos of school-age kids–and even teens—who haven’t had their cleft lips/palates repaired, what we don’t hear is that these clefts may never learn to speak properly or recover from being bullied and/or ostracized.
Within reason, the earlier cleft surgeries start, the better the speech, appearance, and emotional outcomes are.
My latest book, PRIVILEGED KILLERS, is a true story about a half-dozen Dark Triad people in my everyday life - narcissists, manipulators, and psychopaths. Three of 'em murdered people, and one came after my wife and me. Print and e-book versions of this (and CLEFT HEART) available at Amazon and elsewhere online. Also at your local bookstore.
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