NAME — Rebecca Salois
AGE — 18
NAME — Joi Officer
AGE — 14
When he was a kid, Brad Williams got fed up with people who gawked at him because he was a dwarf. But his dad made sure he didn't gripe about it.
"He told me, 'Listen: You have this condition,' " Williams recalled. " 'People are going to stare at you your whole life. You have two choices: A: You can cry about it, get sad about it and feel sorry for yourself; or B: You can use it to educate others by making quick jokes about your condition to put everyone at ease. Then, you have a huge advantage because everyone is going to remember you.' "
Option B is just what the 23-year-old Californian did. Today, Williams is a successful stand-up comedian, who has appeared several times on "Mind of Mencia," comedian Carlos Mencia's hit show on Comedy Central. Williams just concluded "The Punisher Tour," Mencia's nationwide comedy tour that stopped in 50 cities from September through December. He was on WFBQ-FM's "Bob & Tom Show" last October.
"Once people have seen me and they've accepted me as a little person, then my challenge is to come up with something new," he said. "I don't want to be that guy that's just always saying, 'Hey, I'm little! Hey, I'm little!' That gets old after a while. The challenge is to come up with something that makes people want to keep laughing."
Williams isn't the only famous guy who happens to be a little person. Actors like Peter Dinklage and Meredith Eaton have received rave reviews and roles that could have gone to average-sized people. Dinklage starred in the 2003 film "The Station Agent" and as a guest on FX network's "Nip/Tuck." Eaton is filming a movie and has appeared in ABC's "Boston Legal."
Their successes, combined with the TLC reality series, "Little People, Big World," which chronicles the lives of a couple, both dwarfs, and their four children, have helped boost the profile of the country's little people -- who number more than 50,000.
Most of them aren't famous. Y-Press wanted to talk to young people who happen to be dwarfs and ask them how it has shaped their lives. Our interest stems from one of our members, Rebecca Salois, an editor who is a little person herself. Rebecca helped report and write this story.
Y-Press interviewed three dwarfs: Williams, a senior at University of Southern California; and high-school students Daniel LaSarte and Becky Sinkovic.
Becky, 17, is a junior at Lawrence Central High School. She has performed in several plays and musicals and also plays the cello in the school orchestra.
Daniel, 17, a junior at Ponderosa High School in Shingle Springs, Calif., is a member of the Dwarf Athletic Association. He played basketball at a Little People of America National Conference last summer and is a former wrestler.
The three have achondroplasia, a genetic condition that is the most common type of dwarfism. The average height of a male adult with achondroplasia is 4 feet 4 inches; the female average is 4 feet 1 inch.
All three say they get tired of stares and questions sometimes.
"Every day, I get people coming up to me and saying, 'Why are you so small?' and picking on me and stuff," Daniel said. "I wish they'd treat me like they treat everyone else."
Becky's always wondered what it would be like to be tall. When she was younger, her mother instructed other moms to tell their children to stop staring. She doesn't like it when people think she's cute. Cooing at her like a toddler is off limits. So is using the word "midget," which some little people call the "m" word because they find it offensive. The bottom line is, these young people feel like everyone else. That doesn't mean they haven't faced their share of challenges. All you have to do is look at a shopping cart, an ATM machine, a car or a coat rack to see that just about everything is designed for people between 5 feet and 6 feet tall.
As a result, many little people carry a stool with them when they know they'll be at the bank or speaking behind a lectern.
Others use "grabbers," tools that help them reach to turn off a light or get something off a shelf. Pedal extensions are installed on cars for little people who drive. Many have average-size torsos, so seeing over the steering wheel isn't an issue.
Dwarfs sometimes wish they could just disappear in a crowd and not be noticed.
"Going out into the world can make you feel like a has-been celebrity -- everybody is staring at you, but nobody wants your autograph," wrote Erin Thompson, a dwarf, in a 2003 essay for "The Stranger," an alternative newspaper in Seattle.
Perhaps because they look different and have faced discrimination, the little people Y-Press interviewed are especially close to their families.
Daniel said his family doesn't treat him any differently from his brother, whose height is average. "They're just a good family to me," he said, "and they treat me just as any kind of a family would treat you with loving care, and that's all I need in a family."
Some little people feel bitter about being different.
"I know a lot of little people who use their condition as a crutch for failure: 'I can't do this;' 'I can't have this job because I'm little,' " Williams said. "Whereas my family taught me you can do these jobs because you're little."
Sure, Williams knows he can't be a pro football player, but he can make people laugh -- and stop and think.
"Because I tell jokes, people are happy, people laugh," he said. "So, I get to be the voice of a people without coming across too strong and without shoving my message down people's throats. And that's really cool. It's a huge responsibility, but I will gladly take it on."
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Katie Stergar, 15.
REPORTERS: Eric Chen, 14; Tommy Mangan, 10; Sarah Panfil, 11; and Afton Waddell, 13.
Get the facts
Dwarfs are adults who stand 4 feet 10 inches or less, according to the Little People of America advocacy group. The difference between dwarfs and other adults pretty much ends at height. Dwarfs have average intelligence and life spans.
Dwarfism is caused by more than 200 conditions. Most are genetic, a spontaneous mutation in the egg or sperm before conception. Scientists don't know what causes the mutation, which appears to be random and unpreventable. Most dwarfs are born to parents of average height. But if the parents have some form of dwarfism, the odds are much greater that their children will, too.
About 70 percent of little people have achondroplasia ("ay-kon-druh-play-zhuh"), which is characterized by long torsos and short upper arms and legs. Other traits include large heads with prominent foreheads, a flattened bridge of the nose and shortened hands and fingers.
Little People of America is a nonprofit organization that provides support and information, including medical, environmental, educational, vocational and parental guidance.
The group formed in 1957. Today, it has more than 5,000 members and is the largest of its kind. Its annual conference typically attracts more than 1,000 people
Sources: www.kids health.org and www.lpa online.org,
To learn more about little people:
"Dwarfism: Medical and Psychosocial Aspects of Profound Short Stature," by Betty M. Adelson. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005, $30.
This book provides a thorough overview of dwarfism, including history, medical aspects, personal profiles and different opinions of doctors, dwarfs and parents worldwide.
"Little People: Learning to See the World Through My Daughter's Eyes," by Dan Kennedy. Rodale Press, 2003, $24.95.
While sharing his own experiences as the father of a dwarf, Kennedy reports on all aspects of being a little person, and how his daughter's dwarfism has influenced her own life and his.
"The Lives of Dwarfs: Their Journey from Public Curiosity Towards Social Liberation," by Betty M. Adelson. Rutgers University Press, 2005, $34.95.
A comprehensive social history of dwarfs, including how dwarfs have been exploited, learned strategies for coping and their representation and participation in the arts.
"Never Sell Yourself Short," by Stephanie Riggs. Albert Whitman and Co., 2001, $15.95. Josh is a teenager who likes sports, airplanes and spending time with his friends. He was born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism. This photo essay documents Josh's experience.
"Walking Tall: Overcoming Inner Smallness, No Matter What Size You Are," by Peggy O'Neill. Visioneering Group 2002, $17. As a dwarf with a background in psychotherapy, O'Neill provides practical guidance, inspirational stories and life-changing exercises to help little people become more content, successful and healthy.
"Little People, Big World," a TLC reality series featuring the Roloff family. The show airs at 8 p.m. Mondays on TLC. The parents are little people, and so is one of their four children. The series follows the family on their farm in Oregon.