My daughter Leighla and her over comming many obsticals!

Leighla is a very special little girl, as are all my kids!  Leighla has a little more spunk and a lot more reasons to be proud of herself.  Leighla had a rocky start in life, being born almost completely deaf she started out learning sign language then after the

age of three and two surgeries later she was able to hear and there for finally able to learn to speak.  But believe me, it was hard to get that girl to speak with words and not hands!!!!!!  She was bound and determined to never use her voice!  Shortly before that the doctor told us that she has  putitary  dwarfism.  Many doctor appointments and lots of hard work later we are where we are today.  Leighla is in the first grade, after having to repeat kinder two times, working hard to get out of special needs and in many ways has over come her size.  She makes up for her small size in determination and positive out look on life!  She is the one child who 99% of the time has a smile on her face.  She is truely special!!!!!

While most parents who have a child with the same diagnosis as Leighla are afraid to allow their kids to do all the things a normal kid can do.  Because with this comes weak hips, bones can break easy and a hip can get knocked out of its socket very easily. Leighla is encouraged to do all her heart desires.  She participates in normal P.E at school, she is on a childs cheerleading team during the summer, and plays outside with her sibblings as she would if she was of average height.  Her brothers and sisters do not baby her or slow their pace for her.  She has many triumphs as well as defeats!  She has learned not to give up and that she must work harder to get where kids her age are.  She dont like help from us at home either.  If she needs a light on she simply uses her stool to turn it on.  The same goes for reaching the sink and anything else that is out of her reach. 

I have been asked more times then not why it is I do not accomidate her size, or why it is I allow her to participate it sports I know will or could injure a bone or hip.  My answer to that is, if I were to do this she will grow up thinking she cant do certin things, and that is simply not true.  If she couldn't do it,  then why does she do it on a daily basis?  Its like the doctors telling me she will never hear fully even with surgery, she may not have 100% hearing but she can speak, she can talk, and she has a voice as big as a normal size person!!!!!  She behaves badly at times like any child and has her bad moments like any child, she rebels and gets into trouble, just like any child! So if she can act like any child, why not play, speak and learn at the same pace as any child.  She has no limits on her there for she believes she can do all her siblings can, weather or not she is able to do this with 100% capablitity is another story!  The point is she dont say she cant do stuff she simply tries and tries, if she dont get it she dusts herself off and tries again.  I dont hear but mom I cant out of her, I hear, watch mom, I am going to get this!   I don't hear I am to small mom, I hear, so what it just means I dont fall as far as them.  This is a attitude I taught her, its a attitude I am proud she has.  She dont get her feelings hurt by mean remarks anymore because her reply is always the same, don't be mad cause I was created special!  I get some of the worst looks from parents when I go and put her in a sport of her choice during summer, I always laugh it off because these people are about to meet the most amazing child in the world.  When I come across people who are ignorant to the situation I simply blow it off or fight it head on.  When a coach refuses to let my child play I say ok, let me get my lawyer and we will work this out.  I have grown tired of people who just dont realize that even if she is different she has the same rights as a AH (average height) person!  I have been called a bad mom, I have had social services called on me for child endangerment because I will not limit her, and my responce is always the same, how am I putting her in danger if its what she wants and if her doctor says its okay?  Further more is it not more dangerous to tell your child they cant do something because they are different?  I dont push her to do things she dont want, I simply plow the road of all the ,excuse my language, idiots who believe she should be treated differently!   I fight for her rights as fully as any parent would if their child was being left out and that child is of AH.   My family do not see her size, we do not see her limits, we simply see a little girl full of heart, a little girl who tries harder then the rest and one who never gives up.  I see a beautiful girl who shines brighter then most for the simple fact that she has to work harder to get where normal kids are!  The shine comes from the sweat of her hard work, and the smile on her face when she achives her goal!  Even if she isn't first to win the race, she always finishes and that alone makes her a winner!

The point to me writing this is to not only give you guys a inside view of what its like having a child who is a LP (little person) but to also let you guys know to never put limits on your kids cause of special needs.  If they really truelly want it they will finish no matter how long it takes them to do it!  To prove this to you, I will give you one last small story!  Leighla and her sibblings entered into a easter day race, Leighla was the last to finish, in fact she finished almost 15 mins after everyone else, but she finished!!!!! When she crossed the finish line not only her siblings where waiting for her but the other kids as well!  She got the gold medal in determination and not giving up!  A tradition they started that day!!!! =)