Give HK Cleft Lip and Palate Families a Smile

Parent-child Volunteers Visited Elderly Home

HKACLP organizes voluntary services from time to time for the members encouraging them to care for the needy in the society.  In the afternoon on March 16, two staff of the association and 18 parent-child volunteers visited Changchun No. 8 Elderly Home in Hung Hom, bringing joy and care to 118 elders.

The association prepared brain games, Performances of singing and dancing, and most of all, some gift bags for the visit.  First of all, some parent volunteers sang popular traditional Chinese songs that attracted some elders joined in singing happily.  Then, the children volunteers performed Korean hip hop dance that received the elders’ applause and cheers.  Subsequently, the parent volunteers played with the elderly a game called "Touch and Guess" through which some daily use items were placed in a box. The elder was invited one by one to put his/her hand in the box to feel the shape and texture of the items and guessed what it was. This kind of game was beneficial to the elders as it could stimulate brain activity and protects brain function.

After the game, the parent-child volunteers were divided into groups to chat with the elders. Through chatting, the volunteers could express care for the elderly and get to know each other.  Finally, the volunteers delivered gift bags to elderly and took photos with them.  The visit was ended up in joy.

Reunion for Participants of ‘`Caretaking Training Course for New Parents’

The association held reunion activity once every year for participants of ‘Caretaking Training Course for New Parents’.  The recent one took place on 23 March and the families who participated Caretaking Training Courses during last year were invited to join.

During the event, one by one the parents shared how their children were doing recently and the surgeries they had already undergone.  Then the host reminded the parents to take extra care on some problems that their children might experience in the near future, such as middle ear infection and fluid accumulation, speech problem & assessment, dental & underbite problem, and how to prepare the children for schooling. The importance of ENT problem was stressed especially because parents’ negligence may lead to their children’s hearing loss.  At the same time, some parents raised questions on caretaking, orofacial myofunctional therapy, orthodontic treatment, lip & nose revisions... to which the host answered one by one.  Finally, the association prepared games, gifts and refreshments for each participating families.

The reunion activities aim to improve parents’ knowledge about cleft lip & palate so that they can give their affected children the best caretaking and treatments.  Moreover, it also serves to encourage the parents to help and support each other.

Briefing Session for ‘Charity Children Orthodontic Treatment Project’

As cleft lip & palate children grow up, they may have V-shaped alveolar, underdeveloped upper jaw and misplaced teeth causing serious underbite problems that affect their eating, speaking and appearance. Early orthodontic treatment can greatly help to correct all these problem so as to avoid them jaw surgery upon puberty.  However, early orthodontic treatment is not included in the treatment protocol of public hospitals.  Therefore, since the year 2019, HKACLP has been providing by its own ‘Charity Children Orthodontic Treatment’ for the members with the sponsorship of a few charity fundings.

The association held briefing sessions regularly to accept enrollments for the project.  The recent one was held on April 5 attended by 15 people.  There were three parts in the briefing session.  To begin with, the participants would share their dental problems, such as underbite problem make it difficult for the children to cut and chew the food before swallowing, misplaced and crooked teeth make it difficult to clean etc. Then the host explained how cleft dental problem may be corrected through orthodontic expansion, forward direction for growth of upper jaw and alignment for misplaced teeth.  Subsequently, some old participants and their parents shared the experience on orthodontics and the results on completion of the treatment. Their sharings not only provided practical information, but also strengthen the new participants’ confidence on receiving the treatment.  Finally, the host provided details of the treatment project and how new members can join it. HKACLP hopes that after receiving early orthodontic treatment, the children’s underbite problem may be corrected and need no more for further surgery.

Links:

• Hong Kong Assocition for Cleft Lip and Palate