Dwarfism

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Dwarfism

Dwarfism. What is it? What causes dwarfism? Is there any form of treatment?And what hope does a dwarf have of living a normal life?

Dwarfism is a condition found in both genders where, according to the website Little People of America, the average adult height is approximately of four feet. Out of over one hundred types of dwarfism, achondroplasia is the most common.According to the Greenberg Center for Skeletal Dysplasis, achondroplasia “occurs in approximately 1 in 26,000 to 1 in 40,000 births.”Distinguishable features of a dwarf with achondroplasia, says the Greenberg

Center, are disproportionate arms and legs accompanied by a large head.Although in the novel, Hegi never reveals what type of dwarfism Trudi has, strong evidence leans toward the diagnosis of achondroplasia.Trudi tries to reduce the size of her head by tying her mother’s scarves around it (9).The shortness of her legs is displayed in her attempting to modify her walk from its usual rotating from side to side motion (138).

Dwarfism, according to the Greenberg Center, is the result of a genetic condition caused by a new mutation or a genetic change.In 1994, the Center reports that the gene for achondroplasia was found and labeled “fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3).”This discovery of at least one cause of dwarfism was a breakthrough because dwarfs in the past were simply regarded as inexplicable freaks.But now there is biological evidence of a gene, in which,“the mutation, affecting growth, especially in the long bones, occurs early in fetal development” (Kennedy 4).It is from this sort of mutation that two parents of average size can give birth to a dwarf.Trudi’s parents in Stones from the River were of normal height, so her dwarfism ...

... middle of paper ...

...d not have to suffer the hurt and pain involved in trying to fit in.Dwarfs, just like the rest of us, are capable of leading full, meaningful, and happy lives.We have only begun to understand the medical aspects of dwarfism, and as we begin to learn more, hopefully we will begin to be more accepting.

Works Cited

Bankowski, Leann.“They Couldn’t See Past My Size.”Good Housekeeping Nov. 1999.

Egan, Cara M.“The Seven Dwarfs and I.”Newsweek9 Sept1991:10+.

Hall, JG and AGW Hunter.Achondroplasia.Online.Internet.Greenberg Center for

Skeletal Dyplasis.25 Sept 2000.Available: http://www.med.jhu.edu/Greenberg.Center/achon.htm/.

Hegi, Ursula.Stones from the River.New York:Simon & Schuster, 1994.

Kennedy, Dan.Frequently Asked Questions:Little People of America.Online.Internet

Danny Black.25 Sept 2000.Available:http://www.lpaonline.org/resources_faq.html/.

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