Other Stories

Reilly Boyt

Hello everyone! So happy to share the story of one of my friends/teammates, Reilly Boyt, who's also part of the US Paralympic National Team. Since October is also Dwarfism Awareness Month, I wanted to share her thoughts regarding living life with Dwarfism. She left this website as a resource for some information regarding Dwarfism: http://theodysseyonline.com/kansas/faq-for-little-people/184057.

If you have any other questions, please leave a comment and I'll be happy to have either of us answer for you :)

"Hi my name is Reilly. When you first meet me you can tell that I am a little unique. I have Achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism. Which means that I stand at 4’2” and have shorter limbs in comparison to my torso. As a dwarf I have had to deal with a society that is incredibly uneducated about dwarfism. Which is why this month has been so important, October is Dwarfism Awareness month. One of the biggest issues that dwarves face is the use of the word midget. Midget is a word that came into use in the 19th and 20th century, around the time that freak shows were still a thing. People come to these shows to gawk at people with dwarfism and treat them in an incredibly dehumanizing way. This has carried into the 21st century which lead to midget being classified as a derogatory hate word in 2009. Correct terminology you can use is dwarf, person with dwarfism, little person, or you can call me by name. So it is really important that we educate people about the word midget, issues dwarves face, and dwarfism in general. Because the more that society learns about dwarfism, the closer we get to eliminating the stereotypes and misconceptions."

Cedar's Story

Hi I'm Dawn, better known as Cedar's mom. I am daughter of the king, wife to an awesome guy, and homeschooling mom to 6 kiddos. Our family lives on a small farm in Ohio.

Life was good and we thought we had it all figured out, that is usually when God throws a curveball your way.

Our youngest child, Cedar, was born with a little something extra. We didn't know before his birth but Cedar has Down Syndrome. I knew so very little in the beginning about Down Syndrome that I was a little terrified, scared, and unsure. I hated being in that place, so I started befriending Dr. Google and I really didn't find much of what would comfort me at first. What I wanted was not medical jargon, but real stories, real photos, and to see real families. I also needed this to be able to educate my 5 other children about their new brother, though they cared very little about his label and just wanted to love on and enjoy him. They have subsequently become some of his biggest advocates, right along side his mama.

It took a lot of searching to finally come across what I was looking for and that spurned me to want to help spread the word for other moms who found themselves exactly where I had been. I was already a successful blogger and I love to write so that is how I decided to help spread awareness.

I wrote my first blog post about Down Syndrome 2 weeks after Cedar was born and I launched the site www.CedarsStory.com when he was 3 months old. The site is not just Cedar's story but the story of so many other families who have shared their journey there as well.

I am also working on a program to provide a small gift to new mamas starting their journey with a child that has DS. All of this because of just two words, Down Syndrome. Our life has been impacted for the better.

Website