N. Calif. Chapter Forms : Group for Short People Proves Long on Support

Susan Barnes fumed about her boss for demeaning her work because of her height, even though the 4-foot, 6-inch Lodi woman stood only six inches shorter than he.

But Ken Williams noted that he got his first job and stayed for 20 years because, at 4-foot-3, he could work in a nursery basement without banging his head on ceiling pipes.

Pride in their shortness recently drew them to the Turlock home of another dwarf who is trying to re-establish a chapter of Little People of America in the northern San Joaquin Valley.

The group offers a chance for “little people”--as they prefer to be called--to socialize, learn the medical consequences of dwarfism, get advice on clothing and even earn scholarships provided by the organization.

Everyday Barriers

At 3-foot-11, Kathy Duncan, 33, was the shortest of the seven dwarfs who met at her house. Her kitchen puttering showed examples of the everyday barriers encountered by short people, and their simple solutions.

Her head barely rises above her kitchen table. She needs to stretch from her perch on the side of a kitchen drawer to reach a bowl on her counter. But she has a children’s picnic table in her backyard that is ideal for her height.

Stools are essential home furniture for dwarfs, and drivers must spend about $100 to equip their cars with pedal extensions.

“Adaptation is part of our life,” said Sal Ibarra of Lodi.

Stares, Rudeness

They told each other how they have adjusted to stares, crass questions and general rudeness from average-sized people.

When Ibarra meets new people, they often ask how old he is, how tall he is and how much he weighs.

“I get, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ ” said Theresa Brazil, a 20-year-old psychology major at Modesto Junior College. “I’ve never had problems making friends once I get talking. I get through the whole thing of me being short very fast.”

Ibarra agreed, saying, “We have to get beyond that--the questions--before we can have a relationship.”

Several in the group said they take responsibility for making average-sized people feel comfortable. Nevertheless, job-hunting can be a special chore.

Employers “look at you like you can’t do it, so you have to come across as overconfident,” Ibarra said. “It’s a game and we’ve all got to play it, I guess.”

Williams married another dwarf and works as an engineering assistant at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory.

“You have to prove to them that you can do it,” he said. “I may not do it like you would, but the results are the same.”

Miss Brazil stressed, “We’re not handicapped. We’re just short.”

Ibarra added with a chuckle, “Our brain is equal to or surpasses most people’s, but I’m a little prejudiced.”