What It's Really Like Traveling the World As a Little Person-and Why I Want My Children to Follow in My Footsteps

"I'm a neonatologist, but I was born in a time when they didn't routinely do prenatal ultrasounds, which can often identify a fetus with skeletal dysplasia. So when I was born, they didn't know that I was a little person. I was about 2 years old when my new pediatrician, who had trained at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, sent my parents and me up to its genetics clinic, where I was diagnosed with a type of skeletal dysplasia called spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia, Strudwick type."

"As a little person, you have to think about travel and plan ahead. For my graduation present when I was 18, I asked to travel to Europe with my aunt, who was like my best friend. We explored northern Italy, Germany, and Switzerland, and had a blast. With family, you recognize the challenges, but you figure it out. We had to be creative about how I could reach a sink in a hotel or open the door, but I learned to navigate rooms."

"As I started doing more travel on my own, particularly for work, I recognized the need to be prepared. I have to make sure I can reach the lock on the hotel room door and that towels aren't kept up high. I used to ask for a tub because I can use it as a backup sink, but now more places don't have tubs. A single-step stool is not enough for me."

Dr. Jennifer Arnold was born with spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia, Strudwick type, and experienced early respiratory complications leading to genetic diagnosis around age two. She benefited from a surgeon specializing in skeletal dysplasia and traveled frequently to Baltimore for care. As a young adult she traveled through northern Italy, Germany, and Switzerland, learning practical adaptations for hotel rooms and bathrooms. Increased solo and work travel prompted meticulous planning to ensure accessibility, such as reaching locks, avoiding high-placed towels, and requesting tubs as backup sinks. A single-step stool proved inadequate, highlighting ongoing accessibility gaps during travel.

Read at Travel + Leisure