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media reports - 2007
 

Selected newspaper article reprints about people of short stature, including SSPA members, as well as short stature in general from newspapers and magazines around Australia from 2007.
For articles from around the world about people of short stature and short stature in general, go to http://www.shortsupport.org/cgi-bin/news_list.cgi
 

2007

Headlines

New laptop to help Bethany at school
Logan West Leader (Queensland, Australia), 3 January 2007.

School will be made much easier for Bethany Wells with a new laptop computer thanks to a Starlight Foundation wish.
The 12-year-old from Crestmead was born with achondroplasia, also known as short stature, and has been in and out of hospital receiving treatment for various medical conditions. Due to her condition she finds it difficult to write quickly, but with a laptop computer she will have no trouble keeping up with her classmates at school.
Bethany's wish was funded by money raised through Heritage Building Society's branch network in support of the Starlight Foundation.
The Starlight Foundation has been brightening the lives of seriously ill and hospitalised children and their families since 1988.
Bethany's mother Ruth said her daughter was very excited about receiving her new laptop and printer.

Aiming high - DOCUMENTARY
The Age (Green Guide) (Victoria, Australia), 3 May 2007, p. 15.
Author: Bridget McManus

JANICE SHIPLEY is a 49-year-old mother of two adult offspring, a grandmother, and an "adopted" mother to several other young people, all members of a community basketball team that she helps to organise. She works full-time for a kitchen-supply shop.
Sometimes, to her extreme annoyance, strangers pat her on the head.
Janice is one of about 300 members of the Short Statured People's Association (SSPA): she prefers the original 1968 name, the Little People's Association. "I think SSPA is just too long. Little People, that's what we are."
She is the central figure in Short Stories, a documentary spanning four years in the lives of a group of young, short-statured people.
First-time filmmaker Matthew Duffy, 38, who is of average height, came across the SSPA Basketball Association in Port Macquarie in 1990. While hitch-hiking around Australia, he stayed with a relative who owned a basketball court where the first interstate SSPBA competition was being held, and hitched a ride back to Sydney "in a car full of short-statured people".
A decade later, Duffy and his childhood friend Stu McCarney decided to document the NSW team's campaign for the national title. But the pregnancy of key player Amanda took the project in an unexpected direction.
"We'd always thought about basketball being a vehicle to tell individual characters' stories but very quickly, our story evolved from being about short-statured basketballers into quite personal stories, and all of those individual stories came out of the same community. It's quite astounding how rich their lives are."
The irony of short people choosing basketball for a team sport, shooting for hoops of Olympic standard height, is not lost on Duffy.
"It's incredible - that's what initially got our interest. Out of all the games they could have chosen as a recreational sport, they've chosen a game that really benefits someone with height, so you go, well, that's kinda interesting! And some of them are really bloody good players."
While Duffy aims to portray "universal experiences", he says his subjects' circumstances are informed by their physicality.
There's Amanda, the 24-year-old brunette, her short-statured partner, Alan, and their problematic quest for parenthood. A "double dose" of dwarfism can result in a baby unable to survive past birth, as happened with Amanda's first baby with another partner.
Rosa is pregnant to her black American internet husband Winkie who, because of financial and health troubles, cannot move to Sydney. Bubbly young Ammie, whom Duffy accurately describes as having "a turn of phrase that is so Australian and so politically incorrect", is off to Singapore by herself to perform in a suit as Baby Bop in a travelling Barney show. And Nathan has, along with his average-height brother Brendan, recently lost both his short-statured parents.
Janice's story is just as extraordinary. Growing up with average-statured parents whom she says she "cost a fortune" as she flipped from one impossible sporting obsession to another - "Anything I wanted to do, they let me try" - she felt "alone on this earth".
A teacher introduced her to the Little People's Association when she was 16, but she found the experience very uncomfortable.
"In those days it was Us and Them. They were little people, and they just liked little people, and I thought, no. Because I was going out with Fred (who is of average height), I thought, no, it wasn't for me."
Janice remembers her daughter Amanda's similar reaction to being invited to join the basketball team.
"She said to me, 'Mum, they're little people', and I went, 'Yeah, what are you?' And she went, 'Oh'."
As part of her association with the SSPA, Janice counsels average-height women who have short-statured babies.
"We just want to make people not afraid of it. It is a shock to average-height parents, having a dwarf baby, it would be, but it's not the end of the world, there are a lot of people out there who are worse off than us."
Short Stories begins Wednesday at 9pm on SBS..

'We could not ask for more'
Sunday Age (Victoria Australia), 27 May 2007, p. 8.

THEY are an average family ... except for their height. Paul and Leza Daniels and their children Meghan and Max are carriers of the genes that cause what was once called "dwarfism".
The couple pose a deadly genetic combination: each carries a dominant gene that means their children have a one-in-four risk of getting a fatal double dose.
In her first pregnancy, Mrs Daniels had prenatal testing at 11 weeks. They got relatively good news: their baby would be born with her father's condition, achondroplasia, the most common form of short stature.
"We always said we'd go ahead with the pregnancy as long as there was no fatality with the double dose," Mrs Daniels said.
Meghan is now a happy four-year-old, and Max a healthy baby. But between the two births there was much anguish as, with a second and third pregnancy, each unborn baby had the double dose and the pregnancies had to be terminated as there was no hope of the babies living.
It could have been worse, the Daniels say. They had the advantage of early warning of the genetic bone disorder, thanks to the discovery of a gene by Associate Professor Ravi Savarirayan.
"By having the knowledge, we didn't have to go through having stillborns," Mrs Daniels said. "We grieved earlier, but we were fortunate enough to have Meghan to make that grieving process easier."
The availability of such technology and information was amazing, Mrs Daniels said. "We could not ask for any more."

Lilly kicks goals in pool
Waverley Leader (Victoria), 12 June 2007.

WHEELERS Hill teenager Samantha Lilly hopes to swim all the way to the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
The 18-year-old does not let a hereditary form of dwarfism achondroplasia get in the way of her sporting aspirations and as well as swimming competitively has gained a black belt second dan in tae kwon do.
She said she had switched her focus from tae kwon do to swimming after being encouraged by the Victorian Institute of Sport.
Lilly said she had toned down her training schedule this year to focus on studying Year 12 at Mt Waverley's Huntingtower School as she hoped to study physiotherapy next year.
The determined teenager trains regularly with the Nunawading Swimming Club including early-morning sessions that mean a 4.30am start to the day.
"I'm loving it at the moment and will give it a red-hot go," she said.
Lilly said one of her favourite events was the 50m butterfly but she was a more natural long distance swimmer and also enjoyed the 400m freestyle.
She competed at the state swimming championships in January and will compete in the Victorian short course championships in Melbourne in July.  
Lilly will also travel to Tasmania in August to compete with the Victorian team at a school games competition.
Her Paralympic dream was recently given a push along with a $500 grant through the Telstra Developing Athletes Grant Scheme, which she said had helped her buy equipment and swimming uniforms.

Mums on a mission to help others
Hills Shire Times (New South Wales, Australia), 17 July 2007.

RUNNING like the wind was a good way for Lauren Naughton to cope with her two-year-old daughter Emily's brittle-bone condition.
For Akiko Peen, coming to terms with her three-year-old son Julian's achondroplasia (dwarfism, a term no longer used) spurred her to help the Westmead Children's Hospital clinic treating him.
Both women were drawn to using their talents to help ConnecTeD, the fundraising arm of the hospital's connective tissue clinic, headed by Professor David Sillence.
Ms Naughton, of Kellyville, will run in ConnecTeD's half-marathon on Sunday while Ms Peen is helping with publicity.
When these two women, who had not previously known each other, were faced with raising children with disabilities, they each decided to act positively.
The common thread drawing them together was having children who were the first in their families to be born with the debilitating hereditary conditions, but despite Julian and Emily being dealt bad hands in the gene card-deck, they still live relatively happy lives.
This is thanks to the hospital's care and their families' positive attitudes.
Ms Naughton said she took up running 18 months ago to lose weight and "to cope better" with the constant care of her little girl.
Emily has already has suffered more than four serious bone fractures in her short life.
Prof Sillence said both children were being helped by a new treatment called pamidronate which reduces the risk of fractures.
"The treatment has really helped Emily and she is having less fractures," Ms Naughton said.
For information on ConnecTed or to make donations, call the Medical Genetics Clinic at the hospital on 9845 3215.

'Adventure' could save Leo his life
Illawarra Mercury (New South Wales, Australia), 24 July 2007.

THE daunting prospect of major surgery turned into an adventure for little Leo Lagana when a limousine arrived to whisk him off to a Sydney hospital yesterday.
His stylish travel arrangements came after a nerve-racking day for his parents, John and Pauline, who were told at 9am that surgery had been cancelled only to have it rescheduled several hours later.
A critical shortage of acute beds at Sydney Children's Hospital had twice forced the cancellation of delicate surgery in the past three weeks that hopefully will stop a rare neurological disease causing Leo a fatal stroke.
On the last occasion - July 16 - the Lagana family's anguish increased when their car broke down on the way home and left them stranded for about six hours.
This time around, the KidzWish Foundation, of which Leo is the chief ambassador, and Leisure Coast Limousines, made sure transport was not a problem.
"It's been a pretty hectic day, but Leo was really excited about travelling in a limousine," Pauline Lagana said. "I am still not sure what the situation with hospital beds is, but we are keeping our fingers crossed."
Late yesterday afternoon a South East Sydney Illawarra Health Service spokesperson said a bed had been found for Leo and that surgery would go ahead as scheduled this morning.
"As far as we are concerned everything is ready with only a time for the surgery to be confirmed," the spokesperson said.
Dubbed Leo the lionheart, the youngster who was diagnosed with primordial dwarfism - a condition which dramatically stunts growth - will be in intensive care for his seventh birthday on Thursday.
Earlier this year he received a further setback when diagnosed with Moyamoya disease, a blockage of the arteries in the brain.
Moyamoya is a Japanese word for "puff of smoke" and describes the look of the tangle of very tiny blood vessels formed to compensate for the blockage.
Without surgery Leo is highly likely to suffer a massive stroke.


Embracing difference (Homefront)
Herald-Sun (Victoria, Australia), 1 December 2007, p. 113.

Short stature hasn't slowed this family, writes CHERYL CRITCHLEY.
Leisa Whitaker, 40, has the most common form of dwarfism, achondroplasia. Husband James, 42, has pseudoachondroplasia. Son Tim, 16, has Leisa's form, daughter Georgia, 11, has James's and Sarah, 20, and Chloe, 17, have a combination of both. Leisa is 117cm and James 118cm.
James, your family are all short-statured?
James: Yes, I have two brothers and two sisters.
Leisa has no relatives with dwarfism.
How did her parents handle it?
Leisa: They were fantastic. I'm the eldest of seven. I was just expected to grow up the same way. The same expectations were put on me.
James grew up in the limelight when his parents set up Short Statured People of Australia?
James: My parents founded it in 1968.
How did you meet?
James: Through the Short Statured Association at a teenage camp. About five years later we got together.
Was it physically hard to have children?
Leisa: The pregnancies were really, really good. I actually asked the doctor is there any difference for you treating me and he said no, just your head's a bit closer to your feet. And that was all. I got big really quick and I had caesareans for all of them.
There are more than 200 forms of dwarfism.
How are yours different?
James: I have more loose joints.
Is that why Georgia just had an operation?
Leisa: It's an alignment of her whole leg. They actually realign the bones in her legs to save the joints. When she gets to Jim's age her joints will be a lot more protected.
Is your house modified?
Leisa: We're in public housing. They lowered the kitchen. We have wider hallways to cater for wheelchairs (when needed). We have a bathroom that has a walk-in shower.
Do you both drive?
Leisa: We have extended pedals, the brake and the accelerator.
Do you have problems with community facilities?
Leisa: It would be nice if people would consider the heights of counters in places like banks. If I'm at a shop and I'm waiting to pay something, I'll wave a $20 note. They see the money before they see me.
Is the term dwarf offensive?
James: I can sympathise with a lot of (SSPA) members out there who don't like it because there's a stigma attached, I think the whole sort of fantasy, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs thing. Generally, the word dwarf or dwarfism doesn't bother me. It is in a sense a medical term.
Leisa: I've actually embraced the word. I tend to use it: ``I have dwarfism.'' That immediately puts a picture in your mind.
James: Probably the most politically correct one these days is short stature.
Leisa: I welcome questions. If a little kid comes up to me and says ``Why are you little?'', I would rather a parent not go ``Shh, don't be rude'' because they're just being a child and they just want to know. If I've educated a child maybe I've educated their parents as well.
Leisa works part-time for Arts Access Victoria?
Leisa: I'm in administration with the EASE ticketing service. We provide reduced-price tickets to arts events around Melbourne.
James: I'm a customer relations officer with a hearing centre. I deal with the customers inbound and outbound as far as inquiries go.
What about the kids?
Leisa: Sarah's actually doing professional writing and editing (at TAFE). Chloe is in year 10. Tim's in year 9 and Georgia's in year 5.
What do you want to do when you grow up Georgia?
Georgia: I want to be an artist. Painting and making jewellery.
Do you play sport?
Georgia: At school I do. Soccer. It's a girls and boys team.
Leisa: She used to go to dancing and she did classical and tap. When I was six I did some classical ballet and just loved it.
James: I played some competition soccer for a while when I was a kid. Golf and table tennis I've done as an adult. I try to play the occasional game of pool when I can.
How did you feel when a Melbourne woman had a late-term abortion after discovering the baby had dwarfism?
Leisa: I would love to have been able to support that woman somehow. I could have shown her that her baby's life wasn't going to be what she thought it was going to be. It also had the potential to live a full, happy, rewarding, active, involved life. No judgment on her whatsoever.
James: I do worry that things like that could set a bit of a precedent as well. That is a real concern of mine.
Is there help for people with a short-statured child?
James: There's a lot of good people in the SSPA who can give them advice, point them in the right direction.
Visit www.sspa.org.au
 

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Last updated: 27 June, 2010