Idiopathic Short Stature (also known as ISS) is when children are short with no known cause. ISS is a problem that can be present in both boys and girls.

The only symptom is having a height significantly shorter than the normal population (i.e., shorter than 1.2% of the population of the same age and gender), and a poor adult height prediction (generally defined as less than 5'4" (~163 cm) for males and less than 4'11" (~150 cm) for females).

ISS is normally diagnosed after a full investigation of the medical history, a complete physical examination, and the exclusion of various chronic medical conditions and hormonal abnormalities.

This may require that your child undergo a series of blood and/or radiology tests to rule out various medical conditions that are known to affect height.