A world without DWARFISM

Should we celebrate our differences instead of trying to change them?

Achondroplasia, the most common type of dwarfism, affects one in every 25,000-30,000 people.

We’ve been used to seeing Paralympian Ellie Simmonds swimming for Team GB. But in a new BBC1 documentary, Ellie dips her toes into the world of a drug designed to treat symptoms of achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism.

The documentary, Ellie Simmonds: A World Without Dwarfism?, focuses on vosoritide, a medicine aimed at changing the lives of people living with dwarfism by helping children to grow. The drug, which requires daily injections and is currently undergoing clinical trials in the UK, has been hailed a breakthrough by some families, but it’s also been met with resistance.

Proposed treatments for conditions like achondroplasia, along with screening for other genetic conditions such as Down’s syndrome, raise questions about how we view people with disabilities, and how they’re expected to adapt to the world they live in. A woman looks into what a new drug could mean and whether it really is the answer.

Ellie’s documentary is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.

'I DON'T WANT MEDICINE TO MAKE ME TALLER'

Cathy Reay is a 35-year-old writer with a focus on disability justice.

Sometimes, when people have a disability, that’s all anyone can see. But growing up ‘different’ I was always encouraged to embrace my disabled body and be proud of my whole identity. I have achondroplasia – the type of dwarfism people have probably seen on TV, at the Paralympics, or maybe, less favorably, in pantomime.