Children with facial differences can suffer from the humiliation and physical challenges caused by a wide range of craniofacial anomalies, such as a missing or deformed ear; sunken cheeks and midface; a misshapen head; a bulging hemangioma; a misalignment of the jaw; wide-spaced or bulging eyes; a large gap between the mouth and the nose; or a large vascular growth obscuring the eye or throat.   Facial differences not only affect appearance; they can also stigmatize a child socially, lead to severe depression, and impede the basic functions of breathing, hearing, seeing, and speaking – a reality IRPS’s patients face every day.

These are the characteristics of the patients whom the NFFR supports through its funding of the IRPS:

• Approximately 1,000 patients, new and ongoing, treated in 120 multidisciplinary clinics a year, with another 1,000 treated in orthodontics;
• 800 parents and families seen by The Newman Family Support Team;
• 49% are age six or younger, 36% ages 6-18; 15% ages 19 or older;
• 60% are African-American, Hispanic, Asian, Arab, East Indian, or Caribbean;
• Nearly 70% are uninsured or receiving Medicaid (requiring documentation of a weekly income of $350 or less per week for a family of four);
• 94% are from the Tri-State area;
• 95% remain in care that spans an entire childhood.