Clefthood: A Conversation with Father and Son

On this month’s myFace, myStory podcast, host Dina Zuckerberg is joined by Jeremy and Henry Shipp. Jeremy is a writer for the Disney Junior cartoon, Firebuds. His son, Henry, was born with a cleft lip and palate and was the inspiration - and the voice -  for the car character Castor on the Clefthood episode. Jeremy and Henry  will talk about their journey and why positive representation in the media matters. 

 

- [Narrator] Welcome to myFace, myStory. Voices from the Craniofacial community, with your host, Dina Zuckerberg.

- Hello and welcome to myFace, myStory, voices from the Craniofacial Community. Whether you're watching on YouTube or listening on Apple podcasts, click subscribe now so that you'll never miss a future episode. And if you're a fan of myFace, myStory, rate and review the program on Apple podcasts so we can get a message of inclusivity and empowerment to more people. I'm your host, Dina Zuckerberg, the Director of Family Programs at myFace. I was born with a cleft lip, a hearing loss, and no vision in my left eye. myFace, myStory is about people like us being seen and heard. About sharing stories within the craniofacial community and with others. Today I will be joined by Jeremy and Henry Shipp. Jeremy is a writer on Disney branded television's animated series Firebuds, about a team of young kids who are the children of first responders, and their talking vehicle sidekicks, as they embark on adventures together, and learn what it truly means to be a hero. Previously Shipp was part of the Emmy Award-winning writing team on Disney channels for Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, with over a decade of experience as a writer for animation. His additional credits include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Family Tools, and Dino Trucks. Shipp began his career as a production assistant at Dreamworks, while working his way up to pursue his passion for writing. Born and raised in rural upstate New York, Shipp currently lives in Burbank, California with his wife and two children. He is a graduate of Syracuse University where he majored in Visual and Performing Arts. Henry is delighted to be making his television premiere, on Disney's Firebuds. This role is especially important to him because like his character Castor, Henry was born with a cleft. It is so rare for characters to have facial differences and is a privilege to be a part of representing the cleft community. At a young age, Henry expressed a desire to advocate for cleft affected kids. Since he was seven years old, he has been baking cookies and selling them to raise money for Smile Train. Through this project, he has not only made donations to a special organization, but he has also raised awareness of cleft throughout his community. Henry is very active at his school. As vice president of his elementary school, he successfully advocated to the school board to get updated playground equipment that benefits students of all ages and abilities. He loves to sing in the school's annual musical review, play the drums in the band and help raise and lower the flag every week. Most of all though he loves playing with his friends, his little sister, Izzy and his tiny dog Wilbur. Welcome Jeremy and Henry. I really look forward to our conversation.

- Thank you for having us.

- Yes, so Jeremy, can you share with us what it was like for you when you found out that your son would be born with a cleft lip and palate? Take us back to that day.

- I remember distinctly, because I was filming a video at the time. I was filming my wife's sonogram and the doctor seemed unusually muted in his energy and he calmly waited until we stopped filming, and then he said, you know, I've got something to tell you. Your son will be born with a cleft lip and palate. I can see it. And I didn't really know what that was. All I could understand was that my son wasn't going to be born the way I thought he was going to be born the way he, you know, the way I th