At Hopkins Greenberg Center, doctors offer more than medical advice to people with dwarfism

By and large, Donné Settles Allen of Silver Spring has a tall family. She’s 5 feet 9 inches, and both her husband and oldest son are over 6 feet. Then, there’s her 13-year-old son, Asante Allen — an outgoing, tenacious goofball who stands 3 feet 9 inches. (He’s quick to point out that with socks and shoes, he’s closer to 3 feet 11 inches). Asante is the only one in his family who has achondroplasia, the most common type of dwarfism and the same one that actor Peter Dinklage has. His mother calls him the family’s “spontaneous genetic miracle.”