LITTLE Aidan Sutton, 3, was born with one of the most common birth defects in Australia, a cleft palate.
And one of the first things his mother Faye wanted to do when he was born was meet other local families who also had cleft-born kids.
“The maternal health nurse told me she was seeing three other cleft kids and I thought we should get together,” she said.
But only since her older son started school this year, has Faye found the time to start a support group with regular monthly meetings.
About one in every 600 Australian children are born with either cleft lips, palates, or sometimes both, and can require up to 23 years of operations and treatment.
They often need special equipment to help them feed, speech therapy, and operations that start when they’re babies.
The condition occurs when a child’s lip and/or the palate fail to fuse and leave it with a split in the upper lip or the roof of the mouth.
Aidan, who is not severely affected, had his first operation on his cleft palate when he was 7 months.
He is on a waiting list for 12 months for a second one.
“It’s unknown with him how many he’ll need, because as he grows the work that’s done could tear or need repair,” she said.
In the meantime, Faye is hoping to add to the small group of other local mums with cleft children who meet monthly in Hoppers Crossing.
“He gets frustrated sometimes because his speech is affected, but we’ve learned to understand about 90 per cent of what he says.”
Faye hopes with the on-going treatment, Aidan will soon be “just a regular kid”.
She points out successful famous people who have overcome the condition, including American actor Joaquin Phoenix and comedian Wendy Harmer.
The group meets the first Thursday of every months at Kidz Digz, Costa Dr, Hoppers Crossing.
For more information, contact Faye on 9734-0939.
