What are the mental health affects of having a cleft lip or other deformity?

Our appearance is a central concept to how we perceive ourselves and other perceive us. Since cleft lip is a common and is a up front (literally on the face) deformity there has been a lot of research on how these children do throughout life. The first thing to know is most of these children do fine with no intellectual or emotional problems. A small number do have problems that affect the group as a whole. In infancy, cleft lip children have been found to have slight delays in motor and intellectual development. As they progress into school they have a higher rate of learning disorder--particularly reading--as well as the expected difficulty with expressing themselves with language. This has led to an over-diagnosis of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in these children so any cleft lip child should have a thorough neuropsychological evaluation before being diagnosed with ADHD. Throughout the school years they tend to be shy, and teasing and bullying can be a problem. As adolescents - a troubled time for any child- they are more likely than others to be dissatisfied with their facial appearance which has had an affect on their social skills. They also are more prone to anxiety and depression than the adolescent group as a whole. Once again most children will be fine but as a group not surprisingly they have more problems and any mental health diagnosis like ADHD should be carefully reviewed as well as possible depression or anxiety in the older child.