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The Western Pennsyl-vania chapter of Little People of America is planning a picnic get-together Aug. 31 and a regional convention March 27-29. For more information, contact Terri Kirby at 495-9213 or e-mail her at kirbyfam3 @msn.com.

Troy Benton is used to the stares. At 16, the Altoona boy is 4 feet, 1 inch tall.

"I'm a regular person ... I'm just short," he said. "That's not a good reason to stare. It's not like I have something in my teeth."

Troy is a little person, the common term for someone with dwarfism, a genetic mutation that results in an adult of height of less than 4 feet, 10 inches tall.

There are more than 300 types of dwarfism; Troy has achondroplasia, the most common type.

"Nobody can agree, but achondroplasia occurs between 1 in 25,000 and 1 in 40,000 births," said Linda Nicholson, a genetic counselor who works with dwarves at Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del.

Nicholson said dwarfism can be diagnosed in utero, but a specific diagnosis can't be made until after birth, when the child's arms and legs can be X-rayed.

Dwarfism has been in the public eye since TLC launched "Little People, Big World," a reality TV series featuring the daily lives of little people Matt and Amy Roloff and their children on their farm near Portland, Ore.

The Roloffs have four children - only one of whom is a little person. Sixteen-year-old Zach Roloff is a little person, but his fraternal twin, Jeremy, is average size.

At the Little People of America national convention in June, Troy played soccer with Zach, whom he'd met a previous convention, before the Roloffs were on TV.

"I think it's kinda cool," Troy said of the show. "They live their lives like we all do."

The show will begin its fourth season in October and was TLC's second-highest rated series last year, publicist Laurie Goldberg wrote in an e-mail. It's helping dwarfism by "making it more visible, more commonplace," said Terri Kirby, president of the Western Pennsylvania chapter of LPA.

"I've heard people say, 'I wonder if that's the Roloffs,'" Terri said with a laugh. "I guess some people think we all look alike."

Terri, 41, and her husband, Rob, 50, who's also a little person, live in Summerhill, Cambria County. They adopted their 8-year-old little person daughter, Dasha, from Russia.

"Overall, it's a good show, and it's good for little people," Rob said. "It's made people more aware of the situations we face."

Little people in a big world

The Kirbys have remodeled their home to accommodate their small statures by lowering the kitchen counters, cabinets and appliances. But outside of their house, some things just are out of reach - particularly at the grocery store.

In Altoona, Troy's family decided not to modify their home. Both of his parents, Patty and Larry Benton, and all three of his older siblings are average size. There are several stools throughout the house, but if Troy needs something from a kitchen cabinet he can't reach, he usually just climbs onto the counters.

"We figured he'd have to live with it every day when he's living somewhere else," Patty said.

Like Troy, if Kirk Meyers of Hollidaysburg needs something, he finds a way to get it. The 35-year-old Hollidaysburg man is 4 feet, 3 inches tall.

"I've always done everything without thinking about it," he said.

There was one thing, though, he never thought he'd be able to do: ride a motorcycle. But after seeing another dwarf's customized bike online, he decided to pursue his own. In 2005, he had a Suzuki Boulevard 650 built just for him.

The seat was lowered, the frame was adjusted and the foot pedals and hand grips were moved to accommodate Kirk's height.

"I still get looks," he said. "People drive past and do double takes. One time, there was a car behind me, and I saw it speeding up, and as it passed me, I saw a girl hanging out the window, taking a picture with a camera phone."

He's unfazed by the staring and even the photo snapping.

"It doesn't bother me," he said. "(The bike) is unique. It's one-of-a-kind."

Clothing and cars can be an issue for many little people. Many use pedal extenders to drive cars, and clothing often requires alterations.

"I hate to shop," Terri said. "You can't ever wear your new clothes the next day. It's usually at least a few days."

Terri said life has gotten easier since the Americans with Disabilities Act went into effect.

Not all little people consider dwarfism a disability, Terri said, though she and Rob do, because of the medical issues they've faced.

"Some don't want to be labled disabled," she said. "They say, 'I'm just like everyone else; I'm just short.'"

Nicholson, the genetic counselor, said she's seen improvements in the 25 years she's been working with dwarves.

"When they get in an elevator, if they want to go to the 21st floor, that's too high, but they've lowered that for people in wheelchairs, so that helps," she said.

Medical issues

Little people can be prone to certain health issues, Nicholson said, depending on their type of dwarfism.

"Children with achondroplasia can have ... breathing problems ... and they can have bowed legs," she said.

Troy had extreme bowing of the legs that was corrected through surgery when he was 3 1/2 but hasn't had any other issues.

"When we go to the national conventions, we see he doesn't have the problems other kids have," said his dad, Larry. "There are kids in wheelchairs so twisted up they can't walk."

At 35, Kirk, who has achondroplasia, is an exception - he's never had any surgery or complications related to his dwarfism.

"I have one of the mildest forms of it," he said.

All members of the Kirby family have had surgery to correct different issues. Rob has achondroplasia, and he said he ''lucked out'' by not needing back surgery until he was in his 40s. Dasha has had hip, neck and knee surgery to correct issues related to her type of dwarfism, spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED).

Terri has had 12 surgeries throughout her life to correct hip problems related to her kniest dwarfism - which is one of the rarest forms.

''I feel blessed,'' she said. ''If it weren't for the surgeries, I'd have to be in a wheelchair and not enjoying things. I hate to do chores, but I'm lucky to be able to get them done.''

She said her faith has carried her through all the challenges of being a little person, from surgery and beyond. Her hip problems prevented her from carrying a pregnancy, but through prayer, she and Rob found Dasha.

''I used to cry and cry about not being able to have a child,'' she said. ''Finally, I prayed to God to help me handle it, because there was no way I ever could have one, and he brought us a daughter.''

Because dwarfism is a genetic mutation, little people are usually born to average-size parents, Nicholson said. If two little people have a child, he has a 50 percent chance of being a little person.

"When two people with achrondoplasia have a child, there's a 25 percent chance it will be average size, and a 25 percent chance it will not live," she said. "When a child gets two genes for achrondoplasia, that's not compatible with life."

Dealing with dwarfism

Until she was in her early 20s, Terri was painfully shy. She has a degree in elementary education, but she never pursued a teaching career because of her low self-esteem.

It's because of her own experiences that she's so grateful Dasha is an outgoing child.

"I think that's almost like a curse, to be a little person and be shy," Terri said. "No doors open for you. She's very outgoing, and that will serve her well as she gets older."

Troy's older siblings helped pave the way for his involvement in sports, as he always tagged along to their games and practices. Even when people do stare or ask questions, Troy said, he's not too bothered by it.

"I was walking in the mall, by (a kiosk)," he said. "And this guy asked out of the blue, 'Why are you so short?' and I just said, 'I'm a dwarf.' And he said, 'Oh, that's kind of cool.' That kind of surprised me."

Socializing didn't become a problem for Kirk until high school, when everybody else started dating.

"I've had people say, 'If he was taller, I'd go out with him,'" he said. "It's a hard part of life. But there's somebody out there, and I'll find her eventually. My grandmother says there's a lid for every pot, but mine must be cracked or broken, because I haven't found it yet."

Rob said he'd probably be "more successful" if he weren't a little person. After high school, he spent seven years working in retail, unsure of what to do with his life, before pursuing a degree in management information systems.

"Maybe I wouldn't have been as angry, or had the frustration," he said. "My grades probably would have been better, but who knows? It's just speculation. I do feel I'd be more successful, and have had better grades, but if I could change things, I wouldn't change anything."

His views began to change when he joined Little People of America in his late 20s. He and Terri met through LPA.

"There's a lot of support at the meetings, and they're very social," he said. "And it's a big plus, the not standing out. When we came back from the national convention, it was such a letdown, because it was back to reality. We had the hotel to ourselves, and we weren't getting stared at."

As officers of the Western Pennsylvania LPA chapter, Rob and Terri said they especially try to reach out to new parents of dwarves.

"We try to encourage parents, as much as we can, and be somewhat of a role model," Rob said. "We want them to know their kid isn't doomed. We've had people say, 'Until we met you guys, we were so depressed.'"

Patty Benton said she was so distraught when Troy was diagnosed that she cried for four days, but looking back, she can't remember why she was so upset. She said other dwarf parents should know one thing: Don't try to hold your child back.

"Encourage them to do anything they want," Patty said. "Don't discourage them. Other people will do that."

Mirror Staff Writer Ashley Gurbal is at 946-7435.