When I was younger, I had a disfiguring disability and actually found that I grew quite fond of the humour attached to it.
I soon learn't that people would laugh regardless of whether I wanted them to or not. If I got upset, then they would carry on laughing at me. When I started to laugh as well, they began to laugh with me, not at me. After a while, this made life a lot easier and people actually started to take the time to show interest in my problem, and secondary school, which is normally horrific when saddled with a disfigurement, became quite enjoyable.
I eventually had it corrected when I was 15. When I came back, the support I got was tremendous, particularly seeing as it was from 15 year olds. If I had run away and got upset and lashed out every time someone had laughed at me before, I don't think the support would have been quite as strong.