Ellie Simmonds, a five-time gold Paralympics winner, is used to an environment where difference is celebrated; but now she’s investigating a controversial new drug that some people argue could bring an end to dwarfism.
A pioneering drug is coming on the market that promises to make children with Achondroplasia – Ellie’s form of dwarfism – grow closer to average height.
Achondroplasia is a genetic condition that is the most common type of dwarfism in the United Kingdom, and the new treatment raises the question: if cutting-edge medicine can stop disability in its tracks – should we use it?
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Travelling around the UK and US, Ellie will explore all sides of this contentious debate, following currently available treatments for dwarfism, meeting families embarking on the drug trial, others who feel treatment would have positively impacted their lives as well as those who are proud of their identity and question the aims of the drug.
Ellie Simmonds: A World Without Dwarfism – Premieres Tuesday, 25 October at 9.40pm on SBS VICELAND and On Demand
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