If you already have a diagnosisfor your child, click on the diagnosis name on the left side or bottom of this page. Use our online growth chart to check on your child's height and weight or use the link on the lower left to find specialty growth charts.
Growth hormone deficiency and other growth disorders are a reflection of a child's overall health.
Children fail to grow for a variety of reasons. Growth hormone deficiency is only one possible cause. Other vital hormones such as thyroid, or insulin-like growth factor also play important roles in a child's growth. Genetics, sleep, nutrition and exercise are also factors for normal growth.
If a child is growth hormone deficient or failing to grow due to an underlying medical problem, his or her visible growth failure means that other more serious (non-visible) things are going on inside the body. Those "invisible" factors are our focus and concern. Height (too much at a young age or too little) is simply something we can see to warn us that something may be going wrong. It is natures early warning signal- an alarm for parents to take their child to the physician.
Many conditions which interfere with children's growth are treatable. Growth hormone, thyroid hormone, and now insulin-like growth factor (in the non-generic form) are medications which are as close to nature as possible. Children with a wide range of growth deficiencies (such as Turner Syndrome, Russell-Silver Syndrome, Intrauterine Growth Retardation - Small for Gestational Age just to name a few) have had wonderful results thanks to growth hormone and other treatments.
Each week we hear from parents about the short people in their family, and this is absolutely a factor to consider. However, scientists have now discovered a few genes which are responsible for growth failure. Therefore, as parents of affected kids ourselves (and yes some of us are short adults) we always tell worried parents- the primary indicator as to if your child needs to be seen by a medical professional is how much he or she is growing each year!
Parent's know their child better than anyone else in the world. Trust your instincts, be your child's strongest advocate. MAGIC is simply parents who have banded together- to help other parents.You are not alone.
Researching information about a potential or newly diagnosed medical problem such as growth hormone deficiency, insulin-like growth factor deficiency, Turner Syndrome, panhypopituitarism, Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia etc. is always scary. It is compounded when we are searching for information about our own children.
Goals of the foundation include: * help you learn about children's growth * provide support to those searching for answers about their undiagnosed child * provide information regarding IGF-1, Growth Hormone Deficiency, Optic Nerve Hypoplasia, Thyroid and all other growth related disorders. Call us today- Ph: (708) 383-0808.
Please remember when contacting us, we are not medical professionals. We are parents of affected children. We will try to match you with the parent whose child most closely resembles you/your questions. We can help you understand what we have learned from our child's experience or from conversations with physicians and other families. Always consult a medical professional for specific medical information.
Today's economic hardships really hurt non-profit charities for kids with rare conditions. Help us offset the soaring costs to provide programs for MAGIC families and children. Thank you! Donations are 100% tax deductible!
The Independent Charities Seal of Excellence is awarded to Charities of America that have, upon rigorous independent review, been able to certify, on an annual basis that they meet the highest standards of public accountability, program effectiveness, and cost effectiveness.
These standards include those required by the US Government for inclusion in the Combined Federal Campaign, probably the most exclusive fund drive in the world.
Of the 1,000,000 charities operating in the United States today, it is estimated that fewer than 50,000, or 5 percent, meet or exceed these standards, and, of those, fewer than 2,000 have been awarded this Seal. MAGIC's CFC #10388
Link Requests: Feel free to link to any page with a topic of particular interest to you. Our goal is to help as many families through education about growth disorders as possible. If you need assistance ContactUs@magicfoundation.org
The MAGIC Foundation's official award;
