Caitlin Gibson, writing in the Washington Post Magazine, documents Caitlin Schroeder’s decision to undergo a painful limb lengthening procedure and months of physical therapy. Thirteen-year-old Caitlin (shown left) was born with a form of dwarfism.

Caitlin’s mother was hesitant but allowed her daughter to learn about the options. The teenager chose to proceed because she said she felt limited by the social impact of her condition.

The procedure added 5-3/4 inches to Caitlin’s height. She is now 4 feet, 8-1/2 inches tall — a difference that allows her to reach the sink and ride a bike.

A height increase of up to 16 inches is, [her surgeon] says, “a tremendously life-altering functional improvement.” But not everyone views the additional height with the same sense of appreciation. As the number of dwarf patients seeking limb-lengthening has grown, so has the controversy surrounding the physical, emotional and social impact of the procedure. Many members of the dwarf community believe that limb-lengthening sends the wrong message: that in order to fit in, be professionally successful or simply lead a “normal” life, it is necessary to conform to the larger population’s standards of height.

The surgery is most successful when patients are younger and their bones heal more readily, but many question whether youngsters have the judgment to make the decision for themselves.

See related post here.

(Washington Post photo)

From Good Morning America/ABC News:

Tiffanie Didonato, who was born with diastrophic dysplasia, a type of dwarfism, said she decided to undergo a controversial and painful bone-lengthening surgery and increase her height by 10 inches so that she could become more independent.

Didonato said she decided to proceed with the surgery after an experience with a teacher when she was 15. “She pulled me in the middle of the classroom, sat me on egg crates and said, ‘I don’t know what kind of disease you have, but obviously you’re a dwarf. Why don’t you tell me what you can and can’t do?’ I’ve never heard the word dwarf be called to me before in my life,” Didonato said.

The interaction was etched in her brain and shortly afterward Didonato decided to adapt to life, since life didn’t adapt to her.

The Little People of America organization doesn’t approve of the surgery because it sends the message that there is something wrong with being a little person.

“Most members of the dwarf community believe that no child should undergo surgery unless it is for a treatable medical condition that will improve her or his health. Limb-lengthing surgery, by contrast, does not address any medical condition,” the group said in a statement to “Good Morning America.”

Didonato’s view, though, is, “I don’t judge you, please don’t judge me.”

Didonato says she is pleased about the results and got married over the past weekend.

(With video.)

From the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, an extended feature on people who are gathering in Virginia Beach for a regional conference of the Little People of America.

Conventions of the nonprofit organization are sweet relief for people with dwarfism and their families. They provide a world where being unable to reach the water fountain is no big deal, where top shelves go unused, where eye-to-eye conversations are more common than the neck-straining variety.

People like 17-year-old Jake Spruance (above left), a high school student and member of a wrestling team, has to put up with people staring at him, sneaking photos and videos of him, and even rubbing his head.

Members of the LPA are working for better public awareness of their lives, and some worry that prenatal testing will lead to more selective terminations of pregnancies in which dwarfism is diagnosed.

(Photo from the Virginian-Pilot: Jake Spruance with wrestling practice partner Taylor Whitt at Cox High School wrestling practice.)

From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Brothers Will and Max Graf (l-r, with sister Laura) handle celebrity and middle school with confidence after being featured in the national media. The Post-Gazette began chronicling their middle school experiences last year, in stories here and here.

The brothers, who were both born with a form of dwarfism known as achondroplasia, have been featured in People magazine as well as NBC’s “Today” and ABC’s “20/20.”

Max, who’s starting to think he might like being a teacher, was only too happy to do his part in letting people know that dwarfs, despite their small size and slightly larger heads, are not “freak shows.”

“We’ve got the same size heart and same size brain as everybody else,” he said. “We’re no different. We’re just smaller. That’s it.”

The brothers also quickly dispelled fears about middle school when speaking to incoming students on an orientation panel, saying it was the best year they ever had.

(Scripps Howard News Service photo)

• Down syndrome babies have rights, too (Fox News blogs)
• Man with autism found alive after a week alone in the woods (AP/Chicago Tribune)
• Forum big draw for little people (Windsor, Ontario, Star)
• Little People of America conference fights stereotypes, discrimination (Detroit Free Press)
• Britain recruiting people with disabilities to become teachers ([UK] Guardian)
• Washington’s right-to-die battle is personal (Los Angeles Times)
• Larger special ed classes upset parents (Detroit News)
• Special education students more likely to face disciplinary action (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
• Ian Ziering speaks out about his dyslexia (People magazine)
• In Poland, Chopin’s heart may hold secret of his death (Agence France Presse)
• Gatlin challenges doping ban under ADA (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.)
• Court: Connecticut falls short in helping residents leave institution (Newsday)

From the Macomb [Michigan] Daily:

The Little People of America convention is coming up soon in Detroit, with more than 2,000 people expected from all over the country. Officials are hoping to raise public awareness about issues involving dwarfism, and demonstrate the value and contributions that little people bring to society. More than 80 percent of children of short stature are born to average-size parents with no history of dwarfism in the family.

Anita Atallah, 43, said social acceptance for little people has improved a lot in recent years, in part thanks to the program “Little People Big World.” “People are more aware now that there are people who may look different but are basically the same as everyone else,” said Atallah, who has achondroplasia.

From the Chillicothe [Ohio] Gazette:

A trio of valedictorians from high schools in Ross County, Ohio, demonstrates diversity.

Molly Clairemont (left) is legally blind. Marcus Edwards was the first African American valedictorian from his high school in 70 years. Another valedictorian, Heather Nichols, has metatrophic dysplasia, a rare form of dwarfism. Nichols received a full scholarship to Ohio University-Chillicothe, and hopes to be a middle school teacher at a school for deaf children.

Clairemont will attend Otterbein College and plans to major in physics. “I really want to understand the world around me better and do something challenging. Then pass it on to other people,” she said. “It’s a mission to become as good as anybody else without a disability would be, so nobody looks at me differently.”