Wow...um, unexpected facial asymmetry **Pictures added

[2boyzmama]

The boys had their birthday pictures last week, and I got the Smiles By Wire. My mom called me and said that she was showing them off to coworkers and one of them (rather rudely) pointed out how "odd" Connor's face looks. He has noticeable facial hypotonia, and some other soft markers of his syndrome (wide spaced eyes, flat-ish nasal bridge, his upper lip still doesn't move or look "right", malformed ears) but my mom called me and said that when she looked closer she noticed significant asymmetry.

So I downloaded the pictures into Power Point and turned the grid lines on. WOW! I don't know how to upload a picture AND show grid lines, so I'll just have to describe it.

If you draw a horizontal line across his face, it goes just under his left eye and splits his left ear perfectly in half. But on the right side it goes through the middle of his pupil and near the top of his right ear. His left nostril is higher than his right. His left eye brow is higher than his right. It's obvious that either the left side of his face is higher, or the right side is lower. Also, his left eye is significantly smaller than his right, and it's not just him semi-squinting, it's like that in several poses.

I honestly hadn't noticed this before. I knew he looked a bit "off". I know that subtle facial asymmetry is common in his syndrome, but if it's this noticeable at this young an age, what will it be as he develops??? We know that his internal anatomy is smaller on his left side also.

Sigh.

There's no point to this post really.

[crl]

Our kiddo actually had a somewhat asymetrical face when he was younger. It's more symetrical now. I kind of miss his crooked grin.

Of course, that's not probably not actually helpful, is it?

[frontierpsych]

nak

i have a facial assymetry too and it seems to have gotten less noticeable as I've gotten older. Now most people only notice in pictures, esp if I stare straight at the camera without smiling.

[LavenderMae]

I checked out your blog and honestly (I'm not just being nice ) I don't see it. I guess I don't have a good eye for it or something. I think he is adorable (so is his older brother).

[AuntG]

I think that if you put anyone's face on a grid, you'd find asymmetry. And are you sure that the photo shows him in perfect anatomical position? I mean, only half a degree off and no line is going to look right when placed over a face.... anyway, I wouldn't think anything of it.

BTW, I just came from the college where I was studying the bones and skeletons for an upcoming exam. You can tell the real skulls from the resin ones very easily: the resin ones are perfect, and the real ones are mishapen like crazy!

(I'd hate to have a grid placed over my face! )

ETA: I just looked at your blog -- cute! He doesn't look asymmetrical to me.

[TwinsTwicePlusTwo]

I was on your blog and Connor is absolutely adorable! I can't see the asymmetry. Maybe the picture in question just wasn't very flattering.

ETA: You and I are due on the same day

[2boyzmama]

I'm going to upload the new pictures tonight. It's not strikingly obvious until you put the grid lines on it.

I'm not going to obsess about this...it's just the way he is. We accepted his differences the moment he was born, not to say we don't grieve about it once in a while still. I just hope that it truly isn't noticeable to many others, he's already going to have so much to deal with as he grows up, he doesn't need any more reasons to be teased, you know?

He's being a huge pill tonight, but he's so darn CUTE!!! God did this on purpose...made two year olds beautiful and funny, because otherwise they'd never survive this particular stage

[TwinsTwicePlusTwo]

Originally Posted by 2boyzmama

God did this on purpose...made two year olds beautiful and funny, because otherwise they'd never survive this particular stage

SO, SO true!

[Roar]

Interesting that so many people have observed a lessening of facial asymmetry as the child gets older. That has also been our experience. In our case it is because the child's tone in his face seems to improved as he's gotten older. I wonder if that case with other people too.

And, really I'd take facial asymmetry over being rude any day - imagine pointing out facial asymmetry in the a picture of somebody's kid! Yikes.

[BookGoddess]

Why people feel the need to make such comments is beyond me.

Connor is so cute! I've checked out your blog. I don't see any asymmetry. And if he had asymmetry so what?

[BookGoddess]

You're very pretty too. I meant to add that to my other post but I had a brain fart.

[mamafish9]

Originally Posted by 2boyzmama

He's being a huge pill tonight, but he's so darn CUTE!!! God did this on purpose...made two year olds beautiful and funny, because otherwise they'd never survive this particular stage

Mine ate poop today. Only a two year old could look cute after that

[bdavis337]

I do see what you're talking about, but isn't everyone's face a bit assymetrical anyway? I have such difference between the height of my ears that every.single.time I get my glasses adjusted the optometrist comments on the variance. EVERY TIME. As if it's something they have never seen before. And nobody notices it otherwise.

How does the a-symmetry apply to his genetic syndrome, if at all?

[AndVeeGeeMakes3]

There's actually a ton of recent research about non-syndromatic facial asymmetry which, because I'm a big ole nerd (and I know YOU are too - don't deny it!) is utterly fascinating. It's one of the statistical variations that they are using to create facial recognition software. Apparently there are only, like, three people in the world whose faces ARE symmetrical (Halle Berry being one, of course). Anyway, here's an interesting study about it.

Grace's face is definitely asymmetrical. And it has been rather irritating to me because the surgeon who performed her distraction claimed that she would be "absolutely perfect" when he was finished with her. When we, at the end, pointed out the distinct asymmetry, he dismissed it as "very common." We subsequently "dismissed" him because he was an a-hole!

It does bother me a bit, but, well, what am I going to do? Oh well. But I totally know how you feel. Add one more thing, right? Ugh. But, I'll just call it character . . . .



On another note: zoiks girl! your abs look better preggo than mine have since I was 18 and a professional ballet dancer!!!

[2bluefish]

A good chiropractor can adjust the face to make it more symmetrical. Juju's used to be off too, and he fixed it. It was really weird to see.

[Girl In The Fire]

A good chiropractor can adjust the face to make it more symmetrical. Juju's used to be off too, and he fixed it. It was really weird to see.

How is it possible for a chiropractor to change the bone structure of a persons face?


Everyone has some level of facial asymmetry, I remember in JR high geometry we had to bring in pictures of ourselves and we set them up under grids to see how asymmetrical we were, everyone was asymmetrical. Probably was not the best choice of an activity for a bunch of hormonal image obsessed pre-teens now that I think about it lol

Also keep in mind that pictures can be very distorted. It really depends on the angle the person is to the camera and the actual lens on the camera can cause distortion. I looked at the picture of your son and honestly I would not have noticed anything and I doubt children would either. The picture is probably just a bad picture. He is a cute kid!

[Lollybrat]

I looked at your blog and I think both of your boys are adorable. I can see a little asymmetry in Connor's face, but only because I was looking for it. Lots of children have some asymmetry, so I don't think he looks unusal or "odd" at all.

I'm sorry your Mom's co-worker was rude. Some people never learned that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.

By the way, my son loves "Chuck a Puck" at the Bombers games too! But he's terrified of Bucky.

[bender]

I don't know, maybe I'm completely oblivious, but the examples people have posted of their kids looking asymetrical are totally lost on me. All I see are cute kids.

Everyone's got weird things going on with their bodies...usually one side is slightly larger or hairier, or sweatier, or whatever. I know for me, my ears are uneven and I have to get my glasses tweaked to fit them so I can see properly. If anyone commented on my ears or face being off kilter, I'd think they were jerks and ignore them. Don't let a random coworker at your mom's work make you feel bummed. Chances are, they have some part of themselves that they hate, and are trying to make themselves feel better by picking on a little kid. Really, who does that?

[2bluefish]

Originally Posted by Girl In The Fire

How is it possible for a chiropractor to change the bone structure of a persons face?

The skull - including the face - is made up of many tiny bones. A chiropractor knowlegable in cranial adjustments can adjust them so that everything lines up. Like I said, I saw him do it on Juju, and the result was amazing.

Now mainstream medicine says that at a certain age the bones in the head "fuse". Chiropractic says they do not and that they can always be manipulated. I had my head adjusted one time after I bumped it, and I do feel that I felt the bones move.

Incidentally, chiropractors knew for years that the bones of the sacrum were not fused. But they were believed to be fused by mainstream medicine until the 1980s.

[AuntG]

Originally Posted by 2bluefish

Incidentally, chiropractors knew for years that the bones of the sacrum were not fused. But they were believed to be fused by mainstream medicine until the 1980s.

Are you talking about children? Adult sacrums are definitely fused.