William is almost eleven years old who is barely three feet tall because he was born with a condition called dwarfism. William tells his friends that, "just like them, he'll finish school, go to college and have a regular future. I just won't get much taller, that's all." William enjoys school and gets good grades, plays the xylophone in the school band and is even a member of the school safety patrol! His favorite subject is science and hopes to be a scientist someday, or a lawyer, or really anything that he has thought about being when he grows up. All of William's family is of average size. He has an eight year old brother and a baby sister. He is quick to point out to people that size is not an indicator of age or a person's maturity. Sometimes it is hard for him to be a little person when people don't believe that he is actually older then his brother.
William is a smart boy. I think that because he already has a passion for science, it is would be important to make sure that Will has fun working on other subjects so that he becomes a very well rounded student. Since William is very proud of himself and understands his dwarfism, it is important to educate the other students in the class about his condition. Maybe William and his mother or father could teach the class about what being a dwarf means. This would help him be comfortable around the other students and it will help them to understand why William is different then them. This will also give William a chance to embrace his similarities and differences by informing other students about something that is close to him.
Carrie I really liked the suggestions you made! I totally agree that it would be great for William and his parents to teach the class about dwarfism. I think another great thing William could do is talk about some successful people (he and his parents could do the research together) to show the class that size isn't a measure of what you can accomplish.
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