{"id":132815,"date":"2017-11-21T01:15:43","date_gmt":"2017-11-21T06:15:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=132815"},"modified":"2017-11-21T01:15:43","modified_gmt":"2017-11-21T06:15:43","slug":"wonder-star-tremblay-kids-with-facial-differences-meet-for-screening-of-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/11\/21\/wonder-star-tremblay-kids-with-facial-differences-meet-for-screening-of-film\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Wonder’ star Tremblay, kids with facial differences meet for screening of film"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Vancouver<\/a>
Vancouver child actor Jacob Tremblay was in Toronto on Monday for a special screening of his new film \u201cWonder\u201d about a child with facial differences, sharing it with his muses \u2014 a group of young patients who live that reality every day and helped him prepare for his role. (Photo: Jacob Tremblay\/Twitter<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TORONTO \u2014 Vancouver child actor Jacob Tremblay was in Toronto on Monday for a special screening of his new film \u201cWonder\u201d about a child with facial differences, sharing it with his muses \u2014 a group of young patients who live that reality every day and helped him prepare for his role.<\/p>\n

The 11-year-old plays Auggie Pullman, a child with Treacher Collins syndrome, a rare congenital condition in which babies are born with underdeveloped facial bones and often little or no external ears.<\/p>\n

Based on R.J. Palacio’s 2012 novel, \u201cWonder\u201d follows the joys and torments experienced by Auggie as he tries to navigate the fifth grade, his first foray into public schooling after having been taught at home by his parents (played by Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson).<\/p>\n

On Monday, Tremblay walked the blue carpet \u2014 \u201cWonder’s official colour\u201d \u2014 at Sick Kids Hospital, along with two of his co-stars, 10-year-old Millie Davis of Toronto, who plays his friend Summer, and 12-year-old American actor Kyle Breitkopf, who took on the role of the bully Miles in the film.<\/p>\n

Joining the actors on the carpet were the patients whom Tremblay had reached out to while studying for the role of Auggie. For the film, he wore a heavy facial prosthetic, a wig and contact lenses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI made friends and I also asked them if they could send me letters of any tips or experiences or stories they had,\u201d Tremblay told The Canadian Press.<\/p>\n

One of those patients is Katie Atkinson, who was born with Treacher Collins and has had several surgeries since infancy, including receiving cheekbone and chin implants about a month ago.<\/p>\n

The 19-year-old nursing student at Mohawk College in Hamilton recalled being teased and bullied as a child because of her facial differences, including the fact she had \u201clittle ears.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I definitely was and I still struggle,\u201d Atkinson admitted in an interview before the event, saying it can be extremely uncomfortable when strangers stare at her, although that kind of behaviour has lessened somewhat as her surgeries have progressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when I was a child, my facial differences were a lot more prominent. … So a lot of times kids wouldn’t want to play with me. They would call me weird or ugly or an alien.\u201d<\/p>\n

She related one incident in which her father had taken her into a coffee shop and the barista behind the counter \u2014 not realizing the child in the stroller was his \u2014 exclaimed \u201cOh, look at that really ugly baby. They should put it out of its misery.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was such experiences that Atkinson related in her letter to Tremblay to give him the flavour of everyday life for people whose looks are outside the so-called norm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Jacob reached out to us and asked for our letters and wanted to meet with us, that was just so incredible,\u201d Atkinson said. \u201cIt really showed his character and how much he cared about having our stories really come through his acting, to make it the most realistic and the most profound for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Farah Sheikh, a social worker in the Cleft Lip and Palate, and Craniofacial programs at Sick Kids, said the hospital receives about 130 new referrals from across the country each year, most commonly for children with a cleft lip or palate. The hospital currently follows about 5,000 patients with various facial differences.<\/p>\n

The programs provide team-based medical and psychosocial support to these children and their families, from diagnosis through to age 22.<\/p>\n

Initially, Sheikh works with parents, supporting them as they grapple with the medical challenges their child will face and helping to prepare them psychologically for possibly negative reactions from family and friends \u2014 and strangers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be really overwhelming,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But a key part of her role is also to support children with facial differences as they bump up against the reality of a society that is often unforgiving of physical anomalies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing is to have them connect with other children with facial differences and build a sense of community and share their experiences,\u201d said Sheikh, who runs a number of programs and workshops aimed at building their self-confidence and self-esteem.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor most of them, it’s the first time when they attend one of my groups that they’re meeting someone who also has a facial difference. There usually isn’t someone else in their school or classroom that they can look at and be like ‘We look alike’ and have already had like 15 surgeries at the age of 10.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having a visible facial difference can be a significant challenge for children growing up and \u201cthe theme of this movie is very much focused on bullying because of how this young boy looks,\u201d said reconstructive surgeon Dr. Chris Forrest, medical director of the craniofacial program.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it’s very, very unfair that people have to be exposed to that type of behaviour,\u201d he said, adding that \u201ca movie like this is absolutely fantastic\u201d because it desensitizes an important issue and opens up a conversation about acceptance of those who look different.<\/p>\n

Looking \u201cdifferent\u201d is something Kariym Joachim, who was also born with Treacher Collins, has had to deal with all his life.<\/p>\n

Now 30, Joachim has undergone numerous surgical procedures \u2014 \u201cI lost count past 20,\u201d he confided in an interview \u2014 from plastic surgery and orthodontics to having sound-induction implants placed in his skull that allow him to hear.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen there’s also the psychosocial aspect,\u201d he said, explaining that Sick Kids helped him build his sense of identity and self-worth, along with supportive teachers and a small core group of friends \u201cthat stuck it out with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that doesn’t mean that I was free of the bullying and teasing.\u201d<\/p>\n

While such outright verbal attacks have subsided, he hasn’t been able to escape the stares he gets from people as he goes through daily life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s something to be said about getting on a subway train and being able to notice that there’s a lot of people staring, from the reflections on the window,\u201d said Joachim, a clinical project research manager at Sick Kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou realize that somebody’s staring at you and you can’t help but think: ‘What are they wondering? Are they saying ‘Oh, this person is a freak?’ or ‘Was there an accident?’<\/p>\n

\u201cOr in some cases, some people do believe that this could be something that can be a sin brought on by a parent. Some people feel that having a facial difference is a curse.\u201d<\/p>\n

But in his letter to Tremblay, Joachim recounted both positive and negative experiences \u201cto kind of help him to see what people with facial differences go through.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI really wanted to convey that hopefully through the film that people would see that somebody with a facial difference is a person, they’re a very layered person with their own hobbies, thoughts, beliefs, and wishes and passions like anybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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