Dwarfism

( Saner, 2020).  Challenges and Solutions for those with Dwarfism  Individuals with dwarfism face many challenges daily. The world is not made for little people; the world is made for 'average' size individuals. Some challenges that little people face are:  Reduced Muscle Tone  Delayed Motor Skill  Breathing Problems  Scoliosis  Bowed Legs  Limited Joint Flexibility  Arthritis  Lower Back Pain  Leg Numbness Frequent Ear Infections  Risk of Hearing Loss  Crowded Teeth (Gavin, 2015).  There is no cure for Dwarfism, but there are some solutions to help those with dwarfism. Some of these solutions, though, aren't always an option for some. Some solutions might be surgical treatments, hormone therapy, ongoing health care, or limb lengthening. Surgical treatments help correct problems in individuals with disproportionate dwarfism; which can include correcting the direction of bones, stabilizing and correcting the shape of a spine, increasing the size of openings in bones of the s

(Nickalo Designs, 2020).  Psychological Concepts  The influence of the psychosocial environment upon both the physical health and emotional well-being of infants and children has been known anecdotally since medieval times. It documented in the twentieth century (Green, 2020).  Psychosocial dwarfism (PSD) is where severe and dramatic abnormalities, physical, behavioral, and psychological, are caused in the child by a markedly disturbed parent-child relationship (Green, 2020). Psychosocial stresses mediated through the cerebral cortex appear to bring about intermittent and reversible alterations in hypothalamic function (Green, 2020). Green hypothesised that the production or section of growth hormone releasing factor and other hypothalamic factors inhibited and was responsible for the decreased growth hormone secretion by the pituitary and perhaps other hormonal abnormalities seen in psychosocial dwarfism (Green, 2020).  The noticeable dwarfism seen in psychosocial dwarfism is reversib

 Cara Reedy - Being a little person in America: 'We're still treated as less than human.'   (The Guardian, 2019).  Cara Reedy is a program manager for DREDF's Disability Media Alliance Project (DMAP) and has been involved in the media her entire life (DREDF, 2021). Reedy is a journalist, actor, and photographer. Cara Reedy has worked for CNN for ten years, produced docs, food writing, and reported disability (DREDF, 2021). Cara Reedy was born with achondroplastic dwarfism. When everyone else said, 'Oh god,' her parents stood by her and loved her just as she is. In 2015, Cara quit CNN and starred in a self-produced pilot, and directed another (DREDF, 2021). In 2019, she co-produced a short document for The Guardian, "Dwarfism and Me" (DREDF, 2021).  Cara believes that disability is the world's largest minority that crosses race, socio-economic class, and age is the beginning stages of being represented properly by the media (DREDF, 2021). Someone ca

Symptoms and Impacts of Dwarfism  (Kugler, 2019).  Types of Dwarfism   Different types of dwarfism have different causes and physical characteristics (Kugler, 2019). Something that each type has in common is the short stature.  Disproportionate Dwarfism:  This type of dwarfism means that an individual has some average-size parts of the body, such as the head or the trunk; they also have some shorter than average parts body, such as arms and legs (Kugler, 2019). The most common type of disproportionate dwarfism is achondroplasia.  Proportionate Dwarfism:  This type of dwarfism means that an individual is smaller-than-average all over (Kugler, 2019). Growth-hormone deficiency dwarfism, primordial dwarfism, and Seckel syndrome are part of proportionate dwarfism (Kugler, 2019).  Symptoms of Dwarfism Achondroplasia makes up 70% of cases of dwarfism and affects one of every 25,000 to 30,000 newborns (Kugler, 2019). Achondroplasia has a gene that does not allow the body to convert cartilage t

 What is Dwarfism  Dwarfism is either a medical condition or a genetic condition where someone is shorter than an average individual (Roland, 2017). To be considered a dwarf, an individual would have to be under the height of 4'10.  Another term for dwarfism is short stature, which is preferred over dwarf or dwarfism, or the term little person or little people.    (Adelson, 2013).  Historical and Contemporary Overview  In the 18th Century, in ancient Egypt courts, dwarfs were collected, indulged, abused, and were sent by royalty as gifts (Adelson, 2013). Ancient Egypt dwarfs were linked with Bes and Ptah - Gods of childbirth and creativity - being linked to gods help raise their status ( Adelson, 2013). Dwarfs were given roles of priests, courtiers, jewelers, and keepers of linen and toilet objects. Emissaries were sent to gather dwarfs from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Central America to be their owners' property; this was the lives of dwarfs for more than 5000 years ( Adelson, 2