Spotlight: Peter Dinklage

At the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards last Sunday night, Peter Dinklage (who plays Tyrion Lannister in HBO's Game of Thrones) won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. This was Dinklage's fourth win, setting an Emmys record for the most wins in that category. He was also nominated as the executive producer and star of My Dinner with Hervé, an HBO film nominated for the Outstanding Television Movie Emmy. Dinklage, who is four feet and four inches tall, was born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism that results in shorter limbs. His head and torso are of average size. Married with two children, Dinklage will be playing the main character in the off-Broadway musical Cyrano starting on October 11. For more details on this story, go to https://deadline.com/2019/09/peter-dinklage-wins-emmy-supporting-actor-drama-game-of-thrones-hbo-1202739893/.

Peter Dinklage

(image via nydailynews.com)

People with Disabilities Got Talent

A couple of people with disabilities performed very well during this past season of America's Got Talent. Kodi Lee, a 23-year-old singer and pianist from Lake Elsinore, California, was declared the AGT winner with his mother Tina by his side last Wednesday. Lee, who has autism and is blind due to optic nerve hypoplasia, underwent surgery when he was just five days old. For his final performance on AGT, he sang and played "You Are the Reason" on the piano during a duet with singer Leona Lewis. The cash prize Lee will receive is either $1,000,000 in 40 annual payments or one lump sum of about $300,000. He will also have his own show at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino for three days in November. For more information on Lee, go to https://www.kodileerocks.com/.

Also of note is Ryan Niemiller, a 36-year-old comedian with short arms and missing fingers in his hands because of ectrodactyly (please refer to my blog post dated August 28, 2018, for a spotlight on Niemiller). His third-place finish on AGT will advance his career, too.

Ryan Niemiller (left) and Kodi Lee

(image via themighty.com)

Spotlight: Amy Jandrisevits

Amy Jandrisevits of New Berlin, Wisconsin, makes dolls that resemble their recipients, children with physical disabilities. Four years ago, Jandrisevits (a doll collector herself) made a doll with a missing leg for a girl whose leg was amputated. Since then, she has made 400 dolls with a sewing machine in her dining room; these dolls were sent to kids all over the world. Jandrisevits, a former pediatric oncology social worker and now a stay-at-home mother, founded a nonprofit called A Doll Like Me earlier this year. She collects donations to cover materials and shipping costs. For more details on this story, go to https://www.kcci.com/article/wisconsin-woman-creates-custom-dolls-to-match-children-s-disabilties/29027779#.

Amy Jandrisevits with a doll she made

(image via gofundme.com)

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day

Today is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Awareness Day with September being FASD Awareness Month. An FASD is a medical condition contracted by a child due to his or her mother's consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. The disorder usually consists of physical, mental, behavioral, and/or learning disabilities. There are four FASDs: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), Partial Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (PFAS), Neurobehavioral Disorder Associated with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure (ND-PAE), and Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND). They're not curable, but if provided early in the child's life, there are treatments that can help reduce some symptoms. Out of every 100 children in the United States, 16 have an FASD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For more information, go to https://www.nofas.org.

FASD awareness

(image via nofas.org)

Target's Adaptive Halloween Costumes

Now that Labor Day is behind us, you're going to see Halloween decorations and costumes at stores (if you haven't already). As part of its Hyde and Eek! Boutique range, Target recently began selling two adaptive costumes for children in wheelchairs: a pirate with a ship and a princess with a carriage. The wheelchair covers, which fit on various chair sizes, include hook-and-loop closures. The pirate and princess clothes have openings in the back and wide pant legs to make putting them on easier for wheelchair users. Target also sells plush shark and unicorn costumes for kids with sensory processing difficulties. These costumes contain flat seams, detachable sections, and hidden openings without tags for a comfortable feel. For more information, go to
https://www.newson6.com/story/40818496/target-introduces-adaptive-halloween-costumes-for-kids-with-disabilities.

Target's adaptive Halloween costumes

(image via people.com)