Treacher Collins Syndrome (TCS) is a facial disfigurement disorder affecting the ears, eyes, mouth and chin. Complications can be hearing loss, breathing problems, and cleft palate, which is when there is a split or gap in the lip or roof of the moth. A new movie, Wonder, tells the story of a child who suffers this rare condition and how he struggles in school.
TCS is autosomal dominant, which means that you only need to inherit the TCS abnormal gene from one parent to get the syndrome (often both of parents have to have a disease for it to be passed on to the children). In this case, the abnormal gene is dominant and the other is recessive. TCS is not curable and it normally comes with underdevelopment of the lower jaw and zygomatic bone (cheek bone).
You may have heard of the new film Wonder. The child it is about is named August in he has TCS. The disease influences August’s social environment and relationships. For example, the other children in his class make up a “game” called the Plague where if anybody touches August they get the deformed touch. This is a film from the USA. It came out on 14th November 2017. Maybe it makes people understand better so that they are not as mean to those who suffer from TCS
By: Bibi