Tips for Parents of Children Affected by Dwarfism

Is your child affected by dwarfism? If yes, this week’s Disability Living blog posts are for you. Each week the DL blog writes about a topic that is relevant to individuals with disabilities and medical conditions. This week’s subject is dwarfism, also known as skeletal dysplasia or short stature. Many people are affected by dwarfism, but there is not much public knowledge of what the condition actually is. Read on to to find helpful tips for parents of children impacted by dwarfism.

Know what to expect

Is your child affected by dwarfism? If yes, one of the best things you can do is thoroughly educate yourself about the condition. Knowing what to expect as your child matures will help you tremendously. Here are some things you can expect in the first few years of your child’s life:

–Doctors will definitely want to monitor your child as he or she matures. This is because slow bone growth can cause health complications.

–There will be many types of X-rays taken of your child. This will help doctors medically treat your child as best as possible.

–Weight, length and circumference all must be closely monitored, so expect your child affected by dwarfism to have many measurement appointments.

–Physicians will regularly measure the circumference of your child’s chest.  This helps doctors to quickly detect and treat respiratory problems.

–Your child may need to receive multiple types of therapy, such as speech therapy, physical therapy, etc.

–Children impacted by dwarfism are more prone to middle ear dysfunction. Therefore, it is vital that you have your child’s ears checked regularly.

Do you have any tips to offer parents of children impacted by dwarfism?

Parents of children affected by dwarfism have so much to keep up with — their child’s development and health, doctor’s appointments, therapy, and of course, the parent’s own physical and emotional health. What are your tips for parents of kids affected by dwarfism? You are more than welcome to share your tips with us by commenting on this blog post. We look forward to reading what you have to say — thank you for following the Disability Living blog!