This Brave Mum Went On Stage to Talk About Her Daughter’s Dwarfism And Gave Us A Life Lesson

Inclusive language starts with us

A special day

This morning I attended my daughter’s immersion day at her new school in Hong Kong, where she will start primary in August. All parents joined with their little ones for this important life milestone. Then the little people followed the teachers holding hands while the parents gathered in the hall for a presentation by the school team. The excitement filled the room while we all listened attentively, thinking of our doctors, artists, and writers in the making.

Suddenly, the school principal invited a mum to the stage.

“Clara is going to talk about her daughter, Lenna,” she said with a smile, inviting a red-haired lady to the stage.

The mum took the microphone and smiled nervously, looking around. Her body language was tense, but she was trying to remain composed. The hall, filled with dozens of strangers, went silent.

She took a deep breath, introduced herself, and showed a picture of a little blond girl who looked like a toddler.

“This is my daughter, Lenna,” she said. “Although she’s 5, Lenna is much smaller than children her age. She has dwarfism and is the height of an 18 -month-old. I want to talk about her condition so you can educate your children and help me make school a welcoming place for her.”

She continued clicking through the presentation showing pictures of happy Lenna doing things kids her age do, like playing , swimming , and running.

“Lenna is just like your children, except she’s much smaller, but she gets upset when people call her a baby.”

She explained about dwarfism and how rare the condition is. It affects 1 in 15,000 to 40,000 people and most often happens in families where both parents are of average height. More importantly, she talked about how to make people like Lenna feel included in everyday life. The more inclusive way of referring to her is saying a person with dwarfism or simply a little person.

She emphasized how offensive the words dwarf and midget are. Last, she encouraged everyone to use the term ‘average height’ instead of ‘normal height.’ The expression normal implies that other people are not normal.

Clara finished her presentation, and everyone clapped. I held my tears, overwhelmed by the courage of this brave mum who, just like me, just wants the best for her daughter. We then met Lenna with all the other kids, and she was playing and smiling, unaware of what was happening in the world of the grown-ups.

Only a parent can understand the pain of having a child who feels excluded and different from the others. It breaks your heart into a million pieces because you can no longer protect it like you did when it was a tiny baby that needed a cuddle or a growing seed inside your tummy.

The inclusion microphone

We can’t control the world we live in, but we can go on stage when we have a chance and speak up in front of strangers to make the world a little more inclusive, a little better.

That’s what Clara did this morning, and I’m passing you her microphone by sharing her message with you.

Inclusion starts with us, the grown-ups, and it’s our job to make sure the little people are happy and safe when they go to school.

All the little people.

Every single day.

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