Debra Keenahan is an academic and artist whose dwarfism looms large in her work.
For more information, check out her excellent interview with ABC and read her essay ‘The female dwarf, disability, and beauty’.
Read the Restricted Growth Association’s interview with Debra here
Dream Big is a theme in the story Strong and Mighty Max. Hamish McClean achieved his dream; Paralympic swimmer for New Zealand.
Hamish encourages young people to reach for their goal in life.
We are all different, this short video explains how a person with autism sees the world. It explains how everyone’s brains function differently. A great video to introduce to students when discussing visible and invisible disabilities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JdCY-cdgkI&app=desktop
Eleanor May Simmonds, OBE is a British Paralympian swimmer competing in S6 events. She came to national attention when she competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, winning two gold medals for Great Britain, despite being the youngest member of the team, at the age of 13. In 2012, she was again selected for the Great Britain squad, this time swimming at a home games in London. She won another two golds in London, including setting a World Record in the 400m freestyle, and a further gold medal at the Rio Paralympics in 2016, this time setting a world record for the 200m medley. Credit: Wikipedia
Roberto Pino has become a hero in Brazil as his nation’s only competitive surfer born with dwarfism. Despite measuring just 136cm (4ft 5) Roberto competes against non-disabled rivals and has blown them out of the water in national contests. He made history as the first dwarf ever to claim gold in the over 35’s category of a state competition, achieving a lifelong dream. (Credit: Daily Star)
Sinéad Burke is acutely aware of details that are practically invisible to many of us. At 105 centimeters (or 3′ 5″) tall, the designed world — from the height of a lock to the range of available shoe sizes — often inhibits her ability to do things for herself. Here she tells us what it’s like to navigate the world as a little person and asks: “Who are we not designing for?”
Jahmani “Hot Shot” Swanson is just 4 feet, 5 inches tall, but that hasn’t stopped him from achieving his dreams of becoming a professional basketball player. Now, he entertains thousands of fans around the world on a daily basis playing for the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters.
This short visual story focuses on the life of Nick Vujicic, a man born with no arms or legs, but who is touching hearts like hands never could.
Nicholas James Vujicic is a Serbian-Australian Christian evangelist and motivational speaker born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of arms and legs.
