2021 Cleft Con Session Recordings

Representation matters – it can shape how different groups are viewed by society and how we view ourselves. In this powerful session, three talented panelists showcase how they represent the cleft community through their careers, media appearances, and social platforms. They also reflect on what cleft representation in the arts means to them. Viewers will come away inspired to find (or become) their own meaningful representation for the cleft community and larger society.

While every cleft story is unique, people with clefts have certain experiences that others simply cannot understand. No matter where you are on your cleft journey, it can be incredibly meaningful to hear from someone who has been in your shoes and come out the other side. In this session, Beth Angella, Zeb Carabello, and Lindsay Grenert share their stories and reflect on their cleft experiences.

If you thought being a teenager was hard, just try being a teenager with a cleft. For high school students Hunter Fasse, McKayla Kendall, and Niamh Sosa, this is no hypothetical, it’s the life they live every day. In this important, candid session, these teens open up to discuss their experiences and share why and how they chose to become involved with the cleft community.

As Cleft Con participants know, life with a cleft is a journey – one that looks different during each stage of life. In this session, join three cleft-affected adults as they look back and reflect on their path to acceptance – both self and communal – and how their relationship to their cleft has evolved over time. Our panelists also discuss how the conversation around clefts has shifted over the past few decades and what that shift means to them.

To a family with a cleft affected child, the surgeon on their care team is one of the most important people in their lives. This session features Dr. Seun Adetayo, a board-certified plastic surgeon who is passionate about bringing smiles back to children’s faces and hope back to family’s lives. Dr. Adetayo is the Chief of Pediatric Plastic Surgery at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center and Professor of Surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. In this session, participants hear from Dr. Adetayo about her personal journey to becoming a cleft surgeon, how she approaches meetings with new families, and some of the barriers to cleft care that continue to exist in the US.

Currently, whether an American child with a birth difference, including a cleft, receives the healthcare they need at the time their doctor recommends — or at all — depends entirely on which state they happen to live in. Thankfully, Congress is considering legislation that will solve this problem — but it needs your help to pass. Join Becky Abbott, Manager of Treatment and Research at the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasias, and Sarah Hamilton, Senior Manager of Programs Communications at Smile Train, as they discuss this bill and how your support can help ensure that it passes.

As many Cleft Con attendees know firsthand, surgical care is only one piece of the cleft treatment journey. Speech services, dental care, ENT care, and orthodontics are also key parts of comprehensive cleft care. Another important component, for both cleft affected individuals and their families, is counseling and support services. In this session, Dina Zuckerberg, Director of Family Programs at myFace, and Dr. Aileen Blitz, Clinical Psychologist & Clinical Adjunct Professor, will provide an overview of the psychosocial support programs provided by the myFace Center at NYU Langone Health. Grace Peters, Programs Associate for Comprehensive Cleft Care, and Psychologist Camila Osorio will discuss Smile Train’s plans to expand psychosocial support as a key element of our global programs.