Alexandra’s Intro
By: Alexandra
I am 8 years old and am in 3rd grade. I have an older sister (9) and a younger sister (2). My entire family has achondroplasia dwarfism, so our arms and legs are shorter than average and our bones don’t grow very fast. I started a new school a few weeks ago. I like it a lot. This summer I went to the LPA (Little People of America) national conference in Dallas Texas. I walked in the fashion show and Rick Guidotti took my picture. I had a blast! And guess what else? Irina is my sister!
For more information about Dwarfism: www.lpaonline.org
Hi Alexandra!
I’m a student in a graduate program at UCI and we are reading your blog and blogs of other young people as a part of class to learn more adolescent development. I’ve really enjoyed reading your blog and learning more about your life and your family, friends, likes, dislikes, and all of your success auditioning for musicals. I’m glad to hear you like reading, it’s one of my favorite things too.
As a part of class, we came up with three questions to ask you related to some of the topics we’re studying. Hoping to hear back from you! Thanks!
1. Has having achondroplasia ever presented a challenge when it comes to learning choreography, blocking or auditioning for a musical, and what is some advice you have to your readers for overcoming these challenges?
2. Your parents and family sound like awesome and supportive people! What are ways your family has been able to help or provide supports to you and your siblings in regards to your achondroplasia?
3. Whose decision was it to switch from public school to home schooling after 5th grade? Could you share a bit about the reasons for the switch?
Hi!
When it comes to choreography and blocking there are only a few challenges. The only big one is having to move a certain distance in a small amount of time. When it comes to auditioning, especially in the professional field, it’s difficult because size and age don’t always match and not everyone understands that.
My parents also have achondroplasia so they have lots of advice to offer to my sisters and I through first hand experience.
It was a family decision. One of the reasons was that the school wasn’t giving me challenging work. It was all to easy. For some people it would be hard to leave because they had all their school friends, but I had none.
– Alexandra
Thanks for responding Alexandra, it was wonderful to get to hear your thoughts on our questions. Have a great day!
Hi Alexandra! My name is Karly, and I am currently in school to be a teacher! I was reading through your blog, and was wondering if you could answer a couple questions for me?
Who is your best friend? How did you to meet and why did you become best friends?
Who is someone you really admire?
What has the auditioning process taught you about yourself?
What advice do you have for future teachers who might have someone with Achondroplasia in their classroom?
Thanks so much in advance, and I really look forward to hearing from you! :)
Hi Karly!
I don’t always have a best friend. I often do during the run of a show because I don’t socialize much otherwise.
My mom.
It has taught me that when it’s something I care about I am driven, motivated, and focused.
My advice is, depending on the grade level, to have open communication with the parents and student. I also advise to not “baby” the student, treat them as you would treat any other student.
-Alexandra
Hi Alexandra,
My name is Julian and I’m currently studying at UC Irvine to be a teacher. Thank you for writing these blog posts. It was very interesting reading about you and your journey. I have a couple of questions for you:
Did you have a favorite teacher while you were in school? What did you like the most about them?
What is your dream role for acting?
Thanks for educating us about your experience and I look forward to reading more from you in the future! Good luck with your acting career.
Julian